Jack Frost and the Crystal Agony
by MelTheAngryVegan
Summary: Jack had never been to school, much less a school of magic. But when North sends him away to attend Hogwarts, he can't help but think there's something going on. Especially when a certain someone shows up as an assistant teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Mysteries and prophecies unfold and Jack just might have to team up with Pitch to defeat the rising power of Voldemort.
1. Sharing Ice Cream, Going to School

**A/N: Okay... I know the poll isn't over, but I just wanted to put this up because I started writing and couldn't stop. It's a pretty long prologue chapter, but since you guys are so awesome, you deserve it uwu**

**I WILL still be writing the Hetalia/RoTG Crossover, but just give me a bit of time to put it up. And as for updates (on all my stories), they will be updated on Tuesdays and/or Fridays. Usually, I'll update all my stories on one day, so that's something to look forward to! Again, sorry about the poll, but since this had more votes I wanted to get it up. But the other crossover will be coming soon, I promise ;)**

**Also, pairings? Mention to me any pairings you want in the story. It would be much appreciated to get you guys' opinions, especially if you want me to continue this or like the direction the story is in. **

**Okay, enough prattling. Here's the chapter. Enjoy!**

**EDIT: **_If you guys find anything in the story that doesn't fit with the canon books that isn't affected by the story, feel free to tell me so that I can fix it!_

* * *

Jack was not happy.

He had been through a lot that made him unhappy; Being alone or three hundred years, Pitch breaking his staff, not being believed in until Jamie came along, people walking through him when he was unbelieved in, etcetera... the list went on for quite a while. And maybe this didn't make unhappy, so much as annoyed and confused. He just didn't understand any of this at all. It all started with that visitor who came through North's fireplace.

A few days ago, an old man, wearing a tall, pointy, silk hat with robes to match, had stepped through the fireplace in a flash of green light and smoke. The Guardians were having a meeting, and it surprised Jack so much that he may have jumped up and yelled in a very manly fashion.

But it was really what the old man had said that started this whole series of events that had annoyed him and made him so unhappy.

_The visitor introduced himself as Albus-who-had-a-lot-of-other-really-long-names-Dumbledore. North, seeming to have expected the visitor, had embraced him with a hearty laugh. Jack thought that they both looked alike, especially those twinkling blue eyes._

_"Jack Frost," the old man said kindly as he turned to the winter spirit, "how nice to finally meet you." He walked over and held his hand out for Jack to shake, and he took it tentatively. "I've heard so much about you from Nicholas-er, North."_

_"Uh, thanks?" he said uncertainly._

_Dumbledore smiled kindly and looked at the other Guardians. "I suppose that you're all wondering why I am here... correct?"_

_Bunnymund cleared his throat, while Sandy and Tooth nodded slightly in agreement. The twinkle in the man's eyes seemed to dim a bit, replaced with a more grave expression. "My friends, I come here to adress you with a most... serious matter."_

Jack frowned the events playing over and over again in his head. He must have been way out of the loop, and he would have appreciated it if North told him that there were other magical beings besides the Guardians; because knowing about wizards could have been useful to him. Somehow. He was just annoyed about being left out of the loop. Again.

_The four other Guardians stared as North and Dumbledore conversed quietly, Jack trying to catch wind of what they were speaking about. It had to be important... He was able to catch a few weird words like "Voldemort", "Hogwarts", and "send Jack away"._

_Once Jack had heard that, he stared incredulously at them. "What?"_

_North rubbed his big hands together. "Alright. I suppose it is for the best." he said quietly, and then he turned to Jack and smiled. "You're going to Hogwarts, my boy!"_

_The room was completely silent right then, the only sounds being the Yetis and Elves bustling around making toys and carrying out other tasks. "What?" he repeated, absolutely confused and astounded._

_"Hogwarts! School of magic! You will be staying there for time-being." North explained cheerily._

_"W-wait a second!" he exclaimed, voice rising in panic. "Why? I-I like it here! And I have to deliver snow all around the world! How can I do that if I'm stuck there? Where is it, anyways? A-and what is it?" A series of garbled and nervous questions tumbled out of his mouth repeatedly and he felt like he was never going to get answers._

Jack grumbled to himself and looked over at Baby Tooth, who was perched on the bookshelf of his cold room. He'd gone in here to sulk after hearing from North that they were going to go shopping in England or some other stupid place like that. He was just mad. He didn't think that he had to go through all this; he didn't want to be human, he wanted to be Jack Frost, bringer of snow and fun!

_"Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained, "is the school I run in England. It teaches Witchcraft and Wizardry to children through a seven year course, up to the time they turn seventeen and graduate." he smiled, clasping his hands together. "And it's the safest place for you to be right now, Jack."_

_"But why? Why do I have to leave?"_

_Dumbledore sighed sadly, his hands clasping behind his back now. "Jack, right now... there is a terrible being on the rise to power... and you are threatened by it, so the safest place for you to be is Hogwarts."_

_"Why am I threatened?" he demanded. "Is he after me? What for?"_

_The old man sighed again, shaking his head. "Jack, you just need to know that you're not safe here... it's only temporary, my boy, only for a year or so. And you can come back and visit here during the holidays. We're going to plan this very carefully. Don't think I will neglect your other duties." He chuckled fondly, blue eyes shining knowingly._

_"Sweetie," Tooth said, finally speaking for the first time, "it's for the best." The fairy fluttered over to Jack and smiled reassuringly at him. "Just trust us on this one, okay?" She gently laid a hand on his shoulder._

_Jack frowned and looked away, not having the heart to retort the way he wanted to, at least not to Tooth. "But what about winter? I... how are kids gonna believe in me if I don't bring winter everywhere? There are places that snow year-round too!"_

_"Frostbite, you're blowin' this whole thing way outta proportion." Bunnymund said with a roll of his eyes. "Ya can use your powers to make a few assistants, can't ya?" _

_His frowned deepened, but the boy's anger faltered. "W-well, yeah, I guess... But what will I do?"_

_"You'll attend school there, of course!" North laughed jovially. _

_"Not everyone can see me, North." Jack deadpanned._

_Dumbledore chuckled a bit. "Jack, I am known as one of the greatest wizards of all time... making you visible won't be that hard to do. All I ask you is to try this for a year... since you're about seventeen, we'll put you with the Six Years' classes. You'll be a year older than the students in your grade, but putting you in your last year of school would be rather difficult, so this will give you some time to catch up. But before then... we'll need to get you some supplies."_

Jack groaned loudly and slumped onto his ice bed, burying his head in his hands. He never should have accepted to do this. But then again... the thought of other magical beings that weren't exactly deities interested him. And they would be able to see him. Sure, because of that spell; but everyone would be able to see him. Everyone.

Jack would be forfeiting his Guardian duties for the next year, having created creature duplicates that would bring snow around the year while he was gone. But he didn't get to see the smiles on kids' faces t the sight of a first snowfall, or play with Jamie and his friends on snow days... sure, he could come back for Christmas and Easter. But he was sure to feel lonely.

And today, he was to go to some place in England called "Diagon Alley" to get his supplies for school. And above all, he was supposed to not reveal exactly who he was or what he could do.

"This sucks." he said aloud to Baby Tooth, slumping on the bed and closing his eyes. Baby Tooth hovered over him, chittering words of encouragement.

Unwillingly, a little smile began to form on his face. He paused, feeling something literally tugging at his lips to make them form a smile. He frowned and swatted at his cheek. Baby Tooth squealed and flew away. She smiled reassuringly at him, as if to say, "Things are going to be okay". Sitting up and glaring at her, Jack rolled his eyes. But before long he burst into another small smile again and laughed, Baby Tooth swooping down to nuzzle his cheek.

"Alright, alright... I'll give it a try," he conceded. "At least I can bring you along as my pet."

The little fairy nodded in agreement, chirping happily. Jack cupped his hands for Baby Tooth to sit in and he laughed again.

Jack looked up from his hands to the door when he knocked. Sandy opened the door, motioning for him to come. Jack nodded slowly, and grabbed his staff, and the shoes that North insisted he would have to wear. He wasn't sure if he was looking forward to this shopping trip or not... but at least he had Baby Tooth with him.

* * *

England, Jack decided, was rapidly becoming one of his least favorite places in the world. Ever.

Everyone in the whole damn country seemed to think that they were better than everyone else. Or at least, that's what it felt like to Jack.

After a hazardous road trip in a car that North "borrowed" and using the directions from Dumbledore, they made it to Diagon Alley. Jack was scuffing his sneaker against the pavement with a frown, staring at his jeans. North had insisted that he get new clothes since his old ones were tattered; they were kept by Jack's insistence but put away for the time being. Though he still wore his hoodie.

Walking through the large crowd was relatively easy with people parting the way to let North through; who was very large and very tall. Though it was also embarrassing, mostly because this was Jack's first time in public and he felt like everyone was staring at him. He pulled hid hood over his head and clutched his staff. Baby Tooth twittered around, trying to cheer him up, but it wasn't working. He really wished he was invisible again.

Throughout the trip, Jack just followed behind while North bought his supplies, trying to figure out how to use the foreign Wizard currency, even though Dumbledore had explained it to him several times.

While North was purchasing some potions supplies, Jack slumped against the wall outside the shop, stuffing his hands in his pockets. His emotions kept fluctuating between excitement and annoyance.

Instead of letting himself stay mad, he had himself focus on other things around him; the different shops and wizards and trinkets; the moving signs and different creatures in the pet shop. Everything about this place amazed him. Even if he thought that England sucked ass.

He heard North bickering with the store manager and sighed, deciding that he should probably help so that they could get this whole thing over with. He turned to go into the store, only to bump into someone, both of them losing their balance and falling down.

Several books lay scattered on the ground and he began to pick them up. "Sorry," he muttered, "didn't see you there."

"Oh, that's quite alright." Jack looked up to see who he had bumped into; it was a girl who looked to be his age, maybe a little younger. she had the sort of look about her that she wasn't all there, that her mind was wandering. Her blonde hair shimmered in the light and fell over her shoulders. She reminded him a lot of Sophie.

The girl gasped and pointed to his shoulder. "Is that a fairy?"

Jack blinked and Baby Tooth fluttered off his shoulder and into his open palm. "Huh? Oh, uh... this is Baby Tooth. She's my... pet." he hesitated at first but received a smile from Baby Tooth at the notion and felt relieved.

"It's a fairy," she said dreamily, "A tooth-collecting fairy."

Jack blinked, astounded. "H-how did you-"

"Well, from what I've read in books and the pictures I've seen about fairies, that's what she looks like... but it's only conjecture." She reached a hand out to timidly pet the top of Baby Tooth's head. She squeaked and nuzzled the hand. The girl giggled softly and gathered the rest of her books, including the ones Jack had picked up. "Thank you."

"Oh, uh, no problem." he shrugged. After a moment of silence, Jack decided an introduction was best and asked, "Wha's your name?"

The blonde girl smiled at him. "It's Luna. Luna Lovegood."

"That's a nice name," Jack commented with a bit of a smile. "I'm Jack Frost. It's nice to meet you."

Luna's eyes widened a bit and she had a dreamy smile plastered on her face again. "Jack Frost. I've read books about the actual Jack Frost, you know. I always thought he was a very interesting figure."

Swinging his staff around with one hand, he shrugged, the hint of a smirk on his face. "I guess he is."

Looking around Diagon Alley for a moment, Luna pointed to a small shop across the street. "Would you like to go get some ice cream?"

Glancing back at North, who was still fighting with the shopkeeper, he nodded, hefting his staff on his shoulder. He rifled through his hoodie pocket, where he had several galleons, knuts, and sickles given to him by North, as a bit of spending money. He had more of course, but this was all North had let him have for now, lest he buy too much or something regrettable.

"Sure," he said.

The duo walked down to the shop and ordered some ice cream (Jack just got plain chocolate, since he didn't know any of the other weird-looking flavors) and sat down outside on a small table. Jack took pleasure in covering his ice cream with a thin layer of Frost while Luna wasn't looking and bit down on it with his two front teeth.

"Daddy says that anyone who can bite down on ice cream like that is the Spawn of Satan." she informed him with a straight face.

Jack stared at her, his lips curving to a smile, but it dropped when he realized she wasn't kidding. "Well... that's, uh, interesting."

Luna gave him another partial smile, her mind elsewhere. She withdrew a magazine from a schoolbag, entitled "The Quibbler" and began to read it. Upside-down.

At a loss for words now, Jack just continued to eat his ice cream. He looked across the street, where North had finished shopping and was outside the shop now, looking for Jack. Deciding to have a bit of fun before it was all sucked away by the stupid school he was going to, Jack pulled up his hoodie over his head and grabbed Luna's magazine, holding it over his face and pretending to be interested as North passed, scratching his head and wondering where the boy had gone.

Once North had walked off, Jack lowered the magazine and handed it to Luna, and pulled his hood down. She took it back, marking her page before closing it, eating her blue and pink ice cream. "Hiding from your dad?"

"Great uncle," Jack shrugged, remembering to stick to the story North had told him.

"You like playing pranks?" Luna said, her words coming out more as a statement than a question.

Jack chuckled. "Of sorts."

Luna nodded distractedly, stuffing her magazine and the rest of the books in her schoolbag. The blonde stood up. "I know of a place you might like to visit, then."

Jack's eyebrows raised in interest and he nodded contemplatively. "Sounds interesting... care to show me the way?" Luna offered another one of her smiles in return and nodded, tugging on the sleeve of Jack's hoodie to lead him along through the thick crowds of Diagon Alley, down to "Weasleys' Wizards Wheezes".

* * *

Out of all the sights that Jack had seen so far in Diagon Alley, he thought that the joke shop Luna took him to was the greatest.

The aisles were lined in filled with so many different products, all of them different, and all of them looked like they could cause a lot of mischief. He was trying not to grin from ear to ear, and Baby Tooth was whizzing around the shop, but always returned to Jack's shoulder from the span from a few seconds to a few minutes.

"My friends are supposed to be here soon," Luna finally spoke up. "Since Ron's brothers opened up this shop recently, they wanted to visit... they should be here any second."

As if on cue, a bell signaled the arrival of the Golden Trio, also known as Ronald Weasley, Hermoine Granger, and Harry Potter. They stared around the shop with the same amazement Jack had minutes ago when he first came into the shop.

Luna smiled at them and waved. "Harry! Ron! Hermoine! Over here!" she called, grabbing Jack's wrist and waving it in the air too. He shivered a bit at the warmth of the touch. If Luna felt how cold his skin was, she didn't notice. The trio approached and Jack wanted to hide again. He adjusted the strings on his hoodie in boredom.

"Hey, Luna." Ron greeted. He was red-haired boy with dozens of freckles all over his face. "It's been a while, eh?"

Luna nodded, swaying on her feet as she stood. "It sure has been!" She looked back at Jack who straightened up awkwardly. "I made a new friend too."

Jack frowned lightly. They had barely just met, but she called him her friend... that actually made him feel kind of happy.

"Whoa..." Ron stared at Jack in wonder, squinting a little and studying him. "Your hair's white."

"More of a silver," The bespectacled boy said, who Jack assumed to be Harry. "Did you use a spell to get it like that?"

Jack shook his head, fumbling for words suddenly. "U-uh, no. My hair's always been like that..." he paused, thinking back to the image of himself three hundred years ago. "I think I had brown hair when I was little. But I don't remember it very well."

The girl of the group, who had bushy brown hair, cleared her throat and spoke up. "Well, it's nice to meet you. Any friend of Luna's is a friend of ours."

"What if I was friends with Satan?" she asked curiously. Jack tried not to look to confused or bewildered. Apparently Luna's dad talked a lot about Satan. "He's a figure in Roman Catholicism who was said to go against God. He used to be an angel named Lucifer, in the highest choir of Heaven but he fell into Hell and now he rules over it."

There was an awkward silence between the four of them and Luna spoke again. "Daddy has been studying Muggle religion recently. Mostly Catholicism and Buddhism."

Hermoine brushed the statement off, clearing her throat again. "Yes, well... that's very interesting Luna. As I was saying, it's nice to meet you. What's your name?"

The winter spirit straightened up a little more and tightened the grip on his staff absently. "Jack. Jack Frost."

A frown creased Harry's brow. "Jack Frost? Like the guy who brings snow and winter?"

"Yeah." he tried to grin but it came off as more of a grimace, but he was still trying to sound and act casual. "Blame it on my parents."

"I think it's a cool name," Ron said. "Literally."

Hermoine shrugged, looking around the shop. "Well, come on. We came here to meet George and Fred, didn't we?"

Before Jack could ask who George and Fred were, the door burst open with an exclamation of, "Jack Frost!" The teen groaned and held his staff in front of his face. North walked in, heavy footsteps shaking the shelves. He pulled the boy into a brief, crushing hug. "Nice of you to tell me where you were going, eh? You had me worried sick!"

"Yes, Uncle." Jack said through gritted teeth, brushing himself off and hoisting his staff over his shoulder again. "I ran into Luna and decided to get some ice cream." Luna waved slightly but North only shook his head.

"Well! Come, my boy. It is time we be getting home." He pushed Jack along with him, not giving him the chance to protest. "You can meet your friends on the train later, yes?"

Jack simply nodded, trying not to roll his eyes. "Yeah." He turned to wave goodbye to Luna and the others before North herded him off out the door, grumbling something in Russian under his breath.

The four were left alone in the shop for a few minutes, wondering about the strange boy. When the Weasley twins introduced themselves and greeted their guests, then the boy slipped from their minds and they began to get a good tour of the new shop.


	2. Making New Friends

**A/N: **_Oh my gosh, you guys are just too nice to me... over 40 alerts for the first chapter? I'm in your debt, everyone :"D I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and it's another long one~ I'd update more often than once a week, but it's easier to update all my stories on the same day. Hope you understand! I have started naming the chapters as well._

**EDIT: **If___ you guys find anything in the story that doesn't fit with the canon books that isn't affected by the story, feel free to tell me so that I can fix it!_

_Also, Luna, Neville, and Jack are going to be hanging out a lot, like they do in this chapter. More coverage with him and the Golden Trio will come in the next few chapters. Also, Jack is entering with the other sixth years, and this takes place during Harry's sixth year. I am rereading the book but there may be a few discrepancies and differences in here; but that was bound to happen anyway, I guess._

_Leave some feedback if you liked it~ Or if even if you hated it, tell me why! If at all possible, let's see if we can get even more reviews this chapter! I'd also really appreciate if you guys would help out, especially by telling me stuff you'd like to see in the story. Any pairings, or characters to get certain coverage; and I'll see what I can do to make this story better suited for your interests!  
_

_Without further ado, enjoy the chapter~_

* * *

After Jack's little escapade, North forced him into a wand shop. He wasn't sure of the name because North had seemed so rushed, though he thought it had something to do with olives.

It was a small, cozy sort of shop. Jack looked around, noticing that there were shelves and shelves lined with nothing but boxes. He couldn't help but wonder what was inside all of them. Baby Tooth chirped softly, whizzing around with excitement in her big, bright eyes.

"Your little friend seems to like my shop," a voice suddenly said.

Jack jumped in surprise and whirled around, brandishing his staff. He stopped when he saw it was an old man, presumably the shopkeeper. He had a kind smile, not unlike Dumbledore's. Baby Tooth zoomed over to the man and landed on his shoulder with a smile. The old man turned to North and smiled again, nodding his head. "Nicholas? Albus told me you would be coming."

North nodded, walking over and shaking the man's hand. "Good to see you, Ollivander."

"And good to see you as well," Ollivander nodded and looked at Jack. "And your young friend here."

Jack stiffened a bit and North chuckled. "He's not as young as he seems, I assure you."

Ollivander folded his hands behind his back and chuckled. "I should've thought, if he's with you..." He stared at Jack curiously for another moment longer before turning back to his desk. "Now, what may I help you with today?"

"Jack needs a wand-" North started to say, before Jack cut him off, speaking for the first time since they arrived in the shop.

"Who says I need a wand?" he frowned. "I have my staff, and that's all I need."

Ollivander laughed. "Worry not, Jack. You'll need a wand... it can be made like your staff, if you wish. You may carry both around if you need to, as well. Albus is making a few... exceptions, for the time you'll be at Hogwarts..."

Jack loosened up a bit, feeling sheepish now. He'd forgotten about that. At least he could still have his staff. He had insisted on it to the headmaster, and North helped to explain as well. "Can I do magic with my staff?" he asked curiously.

The old man shrugged. "It's not as common as a method today as it was a few centuries ago... yes, I believe so-" Jack's face lit up, and the man continued, "-but you will have to practice with a wand first."

Jack's grin dissolved into an annoyed pout and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Come on now, Jack," North grumbled, patting him on the back forcefully.

Ollivander approached them both, and Baby Tooth flew back to her original position on Jack's shoulder. "Now Jack, may I see your staff for a moment?" Ollivander asked.

Jack stared at the wandmaker, then his staff, before reluctantly handing it over. Ollivander examined it, running his fingers over the frozen wood and spinning it around a few times. "Interesting," he mused. Taking the staff, he walked over to a back shelf in the shop, rummaging through the boxes. Jack followed, his curiosity piqued.

Ollivander finally seemed to find what he was looking for and thrust a wand at Jack. Jack barely managed to catch it in time. He examined it with a frown. It was much shorter than his own staff, but his fingers curled comfortably around it nonetheless.

"9 inches, Mahogany wood, and dragon heart-string core... it's an excellent wand and I think you'll find it to your liking," Ollivander stared at it expectantly. "Go on, give it a wave." he said, impatiently waving his hand in imitation.

Frowning at the man, Jack took a deep breath and nodded. He slowly waved the wand and ice shot from the tip, bright and blinding, freezing a stack of papers on the old man's desk. The beam of ice had sparkled with a blue glow, which faded when the papers froze. Silence reigned the room. He laughed nervously, shifting from foot to foot. Baby Tooth was trying to stifle her giggles.

Ollivander gave a strained smile and handed Jack his staff, while North paid for the wand, the two having a quick word together. Meanwhile, Jack had Baby Tooth cupped in his hands and was whispering excitedly to her, trying not to laugh. "Did you _see_ that?"

North cleared his throat loudly and began to usher the boy out of the shop. "Very good! Thank you for your help, Mr. Ollivander, and sorry for trouble!"

Jack could barely hear the man's reply before he was practically thrown out of the shop. North kept a hand on Jack's shoulder and steered him through the thinning crowd. "Don't do that again, Jack."

"North - stop it - okay, okay, I get it - let go of me!" Jack's protests were ignored; North continued pushing him along and away from Diagon Alley, carrying all of Jack's supplies in a sack usually reserved for presents given to children. Walking - no, being pushed - in his shoes was even more uncomfortable for him. He didn't like the way they pinched his feet.

North just laughed from time to time, pretending not to hear him. Jack groaned in frustration but kept any other protests that he had quiet. Baby Tooth squeaked and nuzzled Jack's cheek reassuringly. It cheered him up a bit.

After they left Diagon Alley, North ushered Jack into the small pub they had entered from earlier and took him upstairs. He frowned, curious, and continued on.

North stopped at one of the rooms and entered, opening the door for Jack as well. "The train leaves in two days, so we'll be staying here for now. We will waste too much time if we go to Pole and back," he explained.

Jack swung his staff in boredom and sat down on the bed. The room was a bit shabby; but it wasn't something he wasn't used to. And no, he wasn't going to miss Bunnymund's slander against him while he was here. Or Tooth sometimes tucking him into bed at night. Or Sandy's silent reassurance.

His stomach twisted with an emotion that he wasn't sure of, but he knew he always got it when thinking of his other life. He collapsed on the bed with a soft sigh. North walked over and patted his head lightly. "Get some sleep, Jack. You will be needing it."

Jack simply closed his eyes and nodded. He fell asleep in seconds, not completely believing how tiring of a day that this trip had been.

* * *

It was the morning of the second day since Jack had come to Diagon Alley and he was shaken awake by North, who was telling him that he should get up early and make sure all of his things were packed. The boy groggily sat up, groaning and rubbing his eyes. He was used to getting up on his own schedule; not being shaken awake harshly by Russian toy makers.

Baby Tooth fluttered over excitedly, ramming into Jack's cheek. He rubbed his cheek, pretending to act hurt, before melting into his usual demeanor and springing up out of bed. He went over to the sack carrying his school supplies, rummaging through it all.

He started with the books. Boy, did they get a lot of books. They had a lot of weird titles but he didn't bother to read them unless he had to. He stuffed all of his books in his suitcase. Then he put in the parchment and quills, the potion supplies - some of the stuff they bought really weirded him out - and was just able to finish the rest of the little oddities.

He looked over to Baby Tooth and grimaced. He was going to have to keep her in a cage.. at least for the time being. That was one rule that couldn't be negotiated with Dumbledore. Hiding it behind his back, he motioned Baby Tooth over. She squeaked and flew into the palm of his hand, barely having time to think before she was put in the small cage. The little helper squeaked furiously at the boy, banging around in the small cage.

Jack brought it to his eye-level and frowned. "Sorry Baby Tooth, but Dumbledore said so. I'll let you out as soon as we get on the train, okay?"

The fairy let out another furious squeak and slumped on the floor of the cage, finally giving a tiny nod. He smiled and reached a finger through the cage to pet her head. She jabbed at him with her long nose.

He yelped and withdrew his finger. He couldn't blame her for that reaction, though... he remembered when all her sisters had been locked up thanks to Pitch. He glimpsed at the last objects left in the bag. Ah, yes. His school clothes.

Jack groaned and set Baby Tooth's cage down and picked up his clothes. They looked so stiff and uncomfortable... he was much more happy to wear his own clothes, loose baggy sweatshirts and tight pants; but seeing as he didn't have a choice in the matter, he quickly changed into them.

Packing his old clothes into his suitcase, Jack grabbed Baby Tooth's cage and walked out of the room. North was waiting outside, adjusting his coat. He looked to Jack and smiled. "Robes fit good, no?"

Jack frowned. "I feel like I'm wearing a dress," he said, turning around in a circle to emphasize his statement.

North laughed and clapped him on the back. "That look is very becoming of you, Jack. Now come on, we certainly don't want to miss the train!" Jack grunted in reply; he stuffed his wand in the pockets of his robes, settling on carrying his staff and Baby Tooth's cage with one hand and his suitcase with the other.

Jack let North lead him out of the pub and to the awaiting car. They got to the train station fairly quickly, though Jack felt very woozy from the car ride - it had been quite intense.

He stumbled out of the car and again, followed North into the station. After a few minutes of walking, he figured out where he was supposed to go. Clamors of students with robes like his were walking around, all of different ages. He felt a little strange being seen by them; the grip on his staff tightened and he approached a platform. There was a brick pillar in front of him. He looked up at North and frowned. "Is that it?"

North nodded. "That's it, my boy."

"I just... run through it?"

North scratched his head. "That is what Albus told me." he paused and bent down to look Jack in the eye, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Now, Jack. Going to this new place with no real explanation of any sort is frustrating for you... and I know you must be awfully curious. But please, keep away from trouble. We are all worried about you. It's enough without being able to watch over you... the best we can do is send letters." North returned to his full height and smiled, trapping Jack in a hug. "We will all miss you as much as you miss us."

Feeling a little choked up now, Jack managed a nod, and hugged North back. "Right," he managed to say, "I'll do that." He gave North one last smile before taking a deep breath, turning, and running through the pillar to platform nine and three-quarters.

Once Jack was sure he made it through, he opened his eyes. He looked at his arms and legs. He was still here in one piece. Step one, completed! Now he just had to get on the train.

While approaching the train, he kept an eye out for Luna, and her other friends that he had met a few days ago. It would be nice to be friends with someone other than the Guardians for a change. But alas, he didn't spot his companions from yesterday. "Maybe they're already on the train," he said to himself with a shrug. Deciding he should do the same, Jack quickly got on the train. The locomotive bellowed black smoke and engine whistled as it took off.

* * *

Jack opened the door to a random compartment near the back of the train. Luckily, it was empty. He stepped inside, heaving his suitcase onto the shelf of the train. He groaned and collapsed onto the compartment's seats, closing his eyes. He thought it made be a good idea to rest up before he made it to Hogwarts.

However, Baby Tooth was having none of that. She squeaked furiously in her cage, demanding to be let out immediately. Jack lazily lifted one finger to unlock the latch of the cage. The little fairy burst from her prison with a delighted chirp and raced around the room in happy circles. The boy chuckled softly and rolled over so that he was on his back.

Right now was the perfect time to be causing mischief, but he didn't feel like it. He was bored as Hell. So he would give the rest of the people on train a little sense of safety... for now. He was sure to be pulling out pranks non-stop, very soon. Smiling contentedly, Jack closed his eyes and began to drift off...

...only to be shaken awake what seemed seconds after he fell asleep. He frowned and swatted at the hand. "G'way, Bunny..."

"I'm not a bunny," a familiar voice said, "though I do wonder what it would be like to be small and fluffy."

Jack slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. Once his vision came into focus, he saw Luna and another boy beside her. "H-huh? Oh, hey Luna." He sat up, smacking his lips, and instinctively reaching for his staff. "What brings you here?"

"I couldn't find you at the train station so I thought it might be nice if we could sit together on the train." she stepped back a bit to show her friend. The boy was a few inches taller than Luna, with brown bangs swept across his forehead. He held out his hand to Jack, who stared at it for a few moments. "This is my friend Neville." she said brightly.

Jack nodded and shook Neville's hand briefly, noticing the boy shiver a bit. He wished his skin wasn't so damn cold. "Nice to meet you, Neville."

The boy nodded, smiling. "A pleasure to meet you as well, er..."

"Jack. Jack Frost."

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Jack Frost? Isn't that the name of a fairy tale figure in Muggle stories?"

Jack shrugged. "Sorta, yeah."

Neville and Luna sat across from him on the compartment and there was a bit of an awkward silence before Neville spoke up again. "I haven't seen you before, Jack. You look a little old to just be starting out." And that was true. Jack was. physically, around seventeen years old.

"Well, it's, ah... some complicated stuff." he lowered his voice a little, "Has to do with my family They're..." he trailed off, shaking his head sadly, pretending he could say no more.

Neville slowly nodded his head and didn't push the subject, not wanting to offend Jack or create more awkward situations. "Y'know, you look to be about Harry's age! Are you starting out at Hogwarts on your Sixth Year?"

"Yup," Jack confirmed. He specifically remembered that from everything Dumbledore had told him. "Seems I'll have a lot of catching up to do."

Luna looked up from the magazine she was reading. "You can always come to us if you need any help." the blonde offered.

"Yeah! We're not experts or anything, but we're no greenhorns." he chuckled a bit.

Jack grinned. "That sounds great."

The three chatted for a few minutes before there was a knock on the compartment door. A woman slid the door open, pushing in a cart full of different foods and sweets. Jack perked up a bit, perching on the edge of his seat and leaning his head against his staff.

"Hungry?" Neville asked. Jack nodded, eyes sweeping over the cart with curiosity. Neville got up and went over to the woman and her cart, picking out some things that Jack couldn't quite name. He looked out the window, the blurring landscape as the train roared along. With a bit of a smirk, he tapped the glass with his staff, watching frost settle over it with satisfaction.

"That's beautiful," Luna murmured, looking up from her magazine to stare at the frost in fascination. "Such an intricate design..."

Jack, feeling embarrassed, looked away, his cheeks flushing blue and frost settling over them. That was another weird thing; he never really blushed. Instead, his body did the exact opposite, covering his cheek in frost and turning them colder. He supposed it was just because of who he was. "Er, thanks..." he said with a sheepish smile.

Neville walked back to the two of them with an armful of various snacks, and set them down on one of the train's seats. His attention turned to what Jack and Luna were looking at and he raised an eyebrow. "Bit early for frost, isn't it?"

"Jack made it," Luna said sweetly.

Neville's eyes widened. "Y-you did that?"

Jack grinned against, a little less embarrassed, and more prideful now. "Yeah." He remembered what Dumbledore an North said about using his powers and frowned. "But, uh, don't tell anyone... I'm not sure on how it works and everything..."

The boy nodded in understanding. He reached for the pile of snacks and pulled out what looked to be a wand made of licorice. He took a bite rom it and sighed in satisfaction. "Go on, take something."

Jack studied the pile carefully. This food looked pretty foreign to him. And he didn't really need to eat in the first place; he couldn't ever remember being hungry. So he nodded to Neville and managed a little smile, taking a small, cauldron-shaped cake. It was covered and filled with a green frosting. He took a bite and felt his taste buds dance when the food hit his tongue. He wolfed it down quickly, and when he was finished, there was a nice bit of frosting covering his upper lip. Neville and Luna stared at him.

And then they all burst out laughing.

There was a sudden chirping noise and Jack remembered Baby Tooth. She'd been sitting on top of Jack's suitcase when the new visitors arrived, feeling nervous. He laughed and extended his hands for her to float down on.

"Hey, Baby Tooth." he said, soothingly running a finger over the top of her feathered head. "Don't be cared, these guys are my friends." He hesitated a bit on saying the word, but he felt happy when it left his mouth. He'd never had friends other than the Guardians; but they were more like a big dysfunctional family. And Neville and Luna seemed the perfect companions.

He held out the fairy to his friends. "You've met Luna already. And this is Neville." The fairy squeaked and flew over to Neville and Luna, alternating between their shoulders.

"That's an interesting looking fairy," Neville said, petting the top of Baby Tooth's head like Jack had done.

Jack chuckled. "Yeah... I got her form a friend a while ago." Baby Tooth flew back over to Jack and nestled herself in the pockets of his robe.

Neville sighed. "Lucky. Wish I had a fairy. Not that Trevor's a bad toad, or anything..."

Luna shrugged. "She has more bird characteristics, but I suppose that her parent or parents would be partly fairy. But really, her fethrs and wings make her a bit more like a hummingbird..." Luna trailed off with the information, hugging her magazine close. "Daddy talks about it a lot. Fairies, and stuff. Lots of cool things that are even weird for the wizard world."

The boy laughed and shook his head at his friend's knowledge. "Oh, Luna."

The trio ate their sweets and talked during the train ride; Jack even allowed for Baby Tooth to try some of the things that Neville bought for them. After about an hour or so of this, they got onto the topic of the four houses in Hogwarts. Their traits, a few people who went to each house, the head of the houses,and the sorting choice.

"Hope you get put in a good house... and not Slytherin." Neville frowned in disgust.

'What's that?" Jack asked curiously.

"Slytherin has a bad rep. All witches and wizards who go there come out bad... or are bad to begin with, is what people say." Luna said casually. "Whatever house you get put in, Jack, I'm sure you'll be happy with it. The Sorting Hat chooses what's best for you. Where you can live up to your full potential. I'm in Ravenclaw, and Neville's in Gryffindor. I hope you get sorted to one o those houses... so we can at least talk to each other more."

Jack nodded in agreement. He started to reply, but stopped when the train began to slow down. Curious, he looked towards Neville and Luna for instruction. "Ah, here we go." Neville stood up, grabbing his suitcase and things. Jack did the same. "The train's slowing down. We're almost there! We'll be taking the carriages to the castle."

"Cool!" Jack said, following Neville and Luna out of the compartment.

"They're pulled by Thestrals," Luna said, a glimmer of excitement in her eye. "Of course, you probably won't be able to see it..." For a moment, Luna looked melancholic, even sad. Before Jack could question her, though, they were leaving the train.

When he got off the train and followed Luna and Neville to the carriages, he immediately noticed the skeleton-like, dark horses by the carriages. In fact... they reminded him of Pitch's nightmares. He shuddered a bit and tightened the grip on his staff. They were out in plain sight; so why did Luna say he probably wouldn't see them?

He wanted to ask her, he did. But he began to pick up conversation from two other student and stayed quiet, listening, even as he began to walk towards one of the carriages.

"How come some of 'em can't see the horses?"

"'Cause they're a special horse. "Y'can only see em' if you've seen death."

Those words remained in Jack's head throughout the ride to the castle and he felt completely bewildered. He could see them very clearly, and they reminded him a bit of North's reindeer, the way they were so intimidating. But why would he see them? He'd never experienced anyone's death.

_"Except for your own," _ a voice in his head whispered.

Jack looked around nervously. The voice didn't sound like him at all. He held his staff tightly and settled for making idle conversation with Neville and Luna again as the Thestrals took flight, pulling the carriage to the awaiting castle.


	3. Suspicion and Sorting

**A/N:**_ I finished this early and decided to get it up now as an extra treat, since you guys have been so great! Longest chapter so far~ Also, do you guys prefer long chapters? Or would you like it broken up a bit more? Just wondering if you have a preference. Also, thinking of changing the title. Suggestions would be super appreciated!_

_We get to see Jack sorted now, haha~ More shenanigans will ensue the next chapter! :) Sorry if any of you disagree with my sorting choice for him, but it fits into the story in a big way, I promise. You'll see!_

_Without further ado, enjoy~_

**EDIT: **_There is a poll up for pairings on my profile! Please go and vote on it for whatever pairing you wish~ You can pick up to two selections and please try avoiding picking two pairings with the same character c:__  
_

* * *

Jack followed Neville and Luna out of the carriages, staring up at the castle in awe. He couldn't believe it's massiveness. It impressed him as much as North's workshop and the Warren. He noticed Neville and Luna, who looked like they were searching the crowd. "Looking for someone?" he asked, dragging his staff along the floor briefly to create a thin trail of ice. He winced and pulled it back up, remembering to keep a handle on his powers.

"Harry," Neville said absently. "We were on the train with him a bit, but then he went off to do something or other... so Luna suggested we look for you."

Luna noticed Jack dragging his staff on the ground. "I thought wizards didn't use staffs anymore."

Jack shrugged, pulling the wand from his pocket. "Well, yeah, but I can't get rid of it... it's complicated... I can use magic with it, but my uncle had me get a wand from Ollivander's anyway."

Neville's brow furrowed in confusion. "Ollivander?"

"Yeah..." The boy frowned. "Something wrong with that?"

He shook his head. "No, no, it's just..." he crossed his arms and stared at the ground pensively. "Ollivander's been missing for weeks! I got a new wand a few months ago from him - my Gran was proud of me, cause of the even in the Ministry and all - and he went missing the day after he sold me mine. Probably on vacation. I thought one of his assistants was running his shop, you know-"

Jack shook his head. "No... he was there. My uncle seemed to know him, too!"

Luna gave him a worried look. "Maybe a Graznok got you, Jack... I think that's why you're mistaken."

Jack had no idea what a Graznok was, but it didn't sound pleasant. He shrugged, twirling his wand in one hand with a frown, before putting it back in his pocket. North had seemed so sure... was it possible he was mistaken? Through the cascade of students entering the castle, Neville was able to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Harry! Sorry I didn't go with you to that Slughorn party thing - Luna wanted to do something - how was it?"

The chosen boy rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Boring. Just him getting to know the famous students. I went to Ginny's compartment afterwards since Ron and Hermione were busy-"

"-and that you had the silly notion of going after Blaise Zabini," A red-haired girl added with a frown.

"Draco's up to something!" he said in a hushed whisper.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "If I didn't know better I'd say you were infatuated with him. Get one of Romilda's love potions?" The rest of his friends giggled but Harry did not; though his lips curled up in a small, amused smile. Ginny always seemed to have that effect on him.

"How've you lot been?" Ron asked Neville and Luna. "Sorry we couldn't talk on the train - Prefect duties, 'n all -"

"That's quite alright. In fact, we made a friend," Neville said brightly, gesturing to Jack. Jack gave a small wave to the other three.

"Oh, we met you in Diagon Alley the other day." Harry said. "Jack Frost, right?"

He nodded, grinning. "Yep, that's my name! And you're... Harry?"

The other boy nodded as well. Jack felt pleased at being able to remember his name. "Pleasure to meet you. I think you may know this already but these are my friends, Ron and Hermione." He gestured to the brown-haired girl, and the red-haired boy with the freckles.

"I've never seen you here before, Jack." Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, here at the school. It mean it's not unheard of, but it's definitely unusual, especially this time of year with what's going on... Anyway. What year are you joining?"

"Ah, Sixth."

"That's our year!" Ron patted him on the back encouragingly. "I've heard of some student transfers before, but starting in your Sixth year too - guess that means you'll be sorted. Probably need a lot of help with notes and stuff - you can always ask Hermione for that... Hope you get into Gryffindor. Then we can all hang out!"

"Or Ravenclaw," Luna added happily.

Jack nodded again, and felt happiness coursing through him. He was meeting all these new people and making friends with them too! Perhaps this year wasn't going to be as hard as he thought. They stepped up to the castle doors, and Professor McGonagall approached. "You students may go ahead," she said, gesturing to the group and laying a hand on Jack's shoulder, "but you shall follow me, Mr. Frost."

Jack waved goodbye to his new friends and followed the older woman into the castle. Entering what Jack would later know as the Great Hall, he took notice of the five long tables in the room; Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and Neville sat down at one where people were wearing gold and red, while Luna sat down at a table mostly consisting of students clad in blue and a bit of silver.

The table between all the others consisted of older adults, whom Jack guessed were teachers. Dumbledore was sitting at the head, and Jack frowned, noticing that his hand looked almost...burnt? He couldn't remember if that was there the last time he saw him... he hadn't really noticed his hands.

One man in particular caught his attention: he was wearing a hood over his head, dressed in black robes. He had an unnatural-looking smile, and the teeth in that smile seemed that they would take pleasure in ripping his flesh apart...

He shuddered a bit at the morbid thought and chased it away, not knowing where exactly it came from. And why exactly the man looked so familiar. The woman looked at him, pointing to a long line stretching through the hall. "Go to the end of the line, Mr. Frost. You'll be sorted after all the other first-years Once you reach the front, then you will put the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will depict which house you will be in. You will then go to that table and your Head of House will help guide you, as will other students. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." he said with a polite nod, before walking to the end of the line.

He moved to the end of the line. It was full of kids who were Jamie's age, maybe a bit older. There were one or two other kids who were a bit younger than Jack, and he guessed they were transfers too. His eyes drifted to the patched and worn hat sitting on a stool at the front of the line. The great hall quieted as the hat - to Jack's surprise - began to talk and sing. He didn't pay much attention, busy running his fingers over the wand in his pocket countless times.

Kids shuffled to the hat when it was their turn, warily put it on their head, and were silent before the hat shouted one of the house names. He noticed, when children were put into Slytherin, the houses didn't really cheer, and it wasn't all enthusiastic from Slytherin itself. Not many people were getting sorted there to begin with, but it didn't sound like fun place, from what he heard from Neville and Luna.

His fingers twitched, impatiently gripping his staff. His eyes kept flicking to the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables for comfort, where his friends were. Neville gave him a reassuring smile and Luna gave him a thumbs-up.

The winter spirit sighed and forced himself to relax.

Three people to go. A name was called, and a trembling blonde girl stepped up to the hat and then put it on.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Cue the applause.

"Make that two people. Another name called, another girl stepping up to the hat.

"RAVENCLAW!" Cue the applause.

One to go. He took a nervous breath, holding his staff so tight that his knuckles were white. The next name was called, and a boy bravely strutted to the hat and happily put it on.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

This is it, he thought to himself with a nervous gulp.

"Transfer student... Jack Frost!" Professor McGonagall called out. There were murmurs all around him and Jack took another deep breath, saying nothing. He just walked up to the hat as he'd seen the other's done, lifted it up with the crook of his staff, and flung it onto his head. He took another bated breath and sat on the stool.

And then he heard the hat speaking to him.

* * *

_"So... You are Jack Frost, are you? My, my, you're quite the case... Hello, Jack Frost." _Jack looked around in the darkness, expecting a person talking to him, but it was just the hat. He nodded, frowning. He was a bit too nervous to say anything just yet. _"You've had a long life, Jack. Over 318 years!"_

Jack looked at the hat in alarm. "H-how did you-"

_"I can see into the minds of all students, and all people. Once I'm on their head, I can go in their head!"_ The hat chuckled, pausing again._ "You're very brave, aren't you? Maybe a bit reckless, but you're brave and loyal. You saved your sister... and you saved Jamie and the rest of the Guardians."_ Jack squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could block out the voice invading his thoughts.

_"You were willing to give yourself up to do that. You would do well in Gryffindor."_

Before Jack could open his mouth, the hat continued._ "Ah... but there is some trouble."_

_"As loyal as you are to the Guardians, you felt a kindred spirit with Pitch. Not being believed in for so long, not being able to see or touch anyone at all-"_

"Get to the point!" Jack said harshly, not fond about thinking of all those nights spent alone, longing for someone, longing for his memories.

_"You are very loyal to Jamie and your sister, but there has, and always will be, the tiniest bit of agreement with Pitch. That could be dangerous."_ The hat was silent._ "But you're a very cunning boy, Jack Frost. You didn't just mope around forever. You were ambitious; trying to make people see you no matter what. Make them see the fun in the world."_

_"And you will do that however you can, not letting anything bar your way again. Especially not Pitch. Very well then, my boy. I've reached a decision!"_

Jack stared at the hat hesitantly. "Then what's all this mean?"

The hat chuckled deeply. _"It means, my dear frost spirit, that you'll be a fine student in-"_

"SLYTHERIN!"

* * *

When that one word bellowed out from the Sorting Hat, it rang throughout the Great Hall, suffocating any other attempts at conversation from the students. Jack nervously took the hat off his head and set it on the stool. His eye flickered over to the Slytherin table, who were clapping, but they looked like they were only doing it because they were obligated to do so.

He saw Luna out of the corner of his eye, also clapping for him. Neville made a weak attempt to clap, receiving some glares from a few of his table mates, and gave Jack a nervous smile. A smile broke out on his face before he could help it, and then he went over to the Slytherin table. He took a seat next to a pale-haired boy, who was scowling at the Gryffindor table.

Dumbledore stood up. "Before I make my usual speech, about our new staff members and such," he said, "you must all be very hungry. So, my friends, my students, go ahead and eat!"

Jack was surprised when food appeared on the plate in front of him. He looked around the table where people were starting to eat and saw that all the plates were now filled with endless amounts of food. He licked his lips nervously before picking up a fork and beginning to eat, telling himself not to eat too much if he was flying anytime soon. He didn't think he would be, but it was a happy thought.

No one at the table attempted to start a conversation with Jack, nor did he to them. He just focused on his food, deciding it was much more interesting than his fellow housemates at the moment. His hands retreated to his pocket again and frowned. He hadn't heard Baby Tooth for a while now... did she run off? He shrugged to himself and continued eating. She'd probably be back soon. No matter how far away she strayed from him, the little fairy always seemed to end up with Jack.

"Hey." Jack felt someone next to him shake his shoulder. The suspicious-looking pale-blond boy was giving him a glare. "You're a transfer, right?"

He nodded and managed to say, "Yeah, I am. So?"

The boy snorted. "So? You'd transfer here of all places, with what's going on in the world now?"

"With all of what going on?"

A girl next to the Slytherin sneered. "Either you live under a rock or you're completely mental! Hello, rise of the Dark Lord anyone?"

Jack nodded quickly, pretending to remember. "O-oh, right, that." Neville and Luna had told him a bit about it on the train, but Neville seemed a bit uncomfortable with the subject; Luna didn't show it, but she'd made not attempts to further conversation in that direction.

"Seriously, you've gotta be crazy." The boy next to him scoffed again, shoving a forkful of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well sorry, Mr. Grumpy-Pants."

The boy was clearly not used to being spoken to like this, and looked at Jack in disbelief. The other Slytherins were giving him the same look. He shrugged, letting his head rest on the crook of his staff. "What? You're a grumpy guy, I'm assuming you wear pants... Maybe they're too tight and uncomfortable?" he suggested, "I know my shoes are."

Two first-year Slytherins let out an unintentional giggle, but the girls returned to eating their food at the scathing glare received from the pale boy. "Well, you really must be living under a rock... if you think you can talk to me like that..." He straightened his robes and sat up, puffing his chest out proudly. "But I may as well educate you on matters you know nothing of. I'm Draco Malfoy."

Jack grinned cheekily and replied, "Nice to meet you, I'm Jack Frost."

"I know who you are." Draco rolled his eyes, savagely stabbing his fork into his mashed potatoes again. "You should just be honored that I've acknowledged you."

"I'm feeling the honor," he said, rolling his eyes and biting out of a dinner roll. He was almost exactly like Bunnymund, only Draco seemed more girlish to Jack. Draco's face turned pink in anger and he turned back to his food. The girl beside gave Jack an angry glare before returning to her previous conversation.

Jack tuned them both out and continued to eat. His thoughts drifted to Baby Tooth but he assured himself that she would be fine. After the students seemed to be finished eating, Dumbledore stood, raising his hands to signal for silence. There was a loud wave of murmurs throughout the room when Dumbledore's hand was revealed. His burnt, withering hand.

Dumbledore told everyone it was nothing, but Jack still wasn't convinced.

"I'm pleased to announce this year, that we will be getting a few new staff members I hope you may all get along smoothly." His blue eyes twinkled kindly toward everyone and he spoke again, "This year, we have Professor Horace Slughorn teaching the Potions subject!"

Confusion was clear in the Great Hall. Everyone was talking in random outbursts, but Jack didn't really care. So what if this guy was teaching potions? Everyone needed some change now and then. He grabbed an apple and took a bite out of it.

"We also have a new teacher for our Defense Against the Dark Arts subject this year... everyone, please welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts, but not new teacher at Hogwarts, Severus Snape!"

The Hall filled with even more shouts of protest and confusion and after Dumbledore silenced them, reluctant applause followed. Draco was smirking broadly at the Gryffindor table; Harry looked rather sick. Snape had such a strange smile on his face. Jack guessed that this wasn't a very good thing.

Snape sat back down and Dumbledore smiled, gesturing to the man with the razor-sharp smile. Jack took another uninterested bite from his apple, chewing it slowly. "And here is our new assistant teacher. He will be flitting in and out of classes around the castle to get a sense of things here. Everyone, please welcome, Pitchiner Kozmotis Black!"

Jack nearly fell off the bench and choked on his apple, doubling over. Draco gave him a confused look, harshly slapping him on the back to get him to cough it up. Hands heavily gripping his staff, his eyes flickered up to the new 'teacher'.

Pitch's skin still had the faintest gray tinge, but his skin was more pale than anything else. He stood up from his chair, hands clasped behind his back, looking at all the students with what could only be described as amusement. There was some scattered applause and his golden eyes set on Jack. He chuckled softly, lips curling into a vicious, toothy smile at the boy.

Jack let out a low growl in his throat, afraid if he squeezed his staff any tighter it would break from the pressure. He glared fiercely at the man who sat back down after another few moments. "The Hell is with you?" The girl next to Draco grimaced. "You look like you're trying to burn a hole through his head."

"That's the least he-" Jack started darkly, before remembering there were people around. He slouched a bit and his glare lessened, but did not leave his face. The speech continued, something about a forest and to be careful this year with Someone-Or-Other rising to power and that this school was safe. It was all blocked out by the roaring in his ears.

His senses finally registered Dumbledore was talking again to the students about instructions for them and their schedules and he decided to listen, glaring at Pitch when his sinister smile turned to Jack. "Now, you all must be very tired. Your warm beds await you and I'm sure you must want sleep. Off to your rooms you go, then! Pip pip! First-years, follow your Head of House or Prefect for directions."

* * *

Once everyone at the Slytherin table got up, Jack followed them, specifically Draco, scowling at the floor. Draco noticed and scoffed. "It's not the end of the world, it's just some new teachers. Acting like he tried to kill your family or something..." _Well, he sorta did,_ Jack thought ruefully. He sighed and kept walking. Even though his situation looked grim, he couldn't be glaring all the time. His center was fun, after all, and goddamnit, he was going to have _fun here. If Pitch didn't try to kill him first. Or vice versa._

After a minute or so of walking, Jack finally noticed where they were going. The Slytherins were descending down a staircase into what he presumed to be their living quarters. Oh sure, that wasn't creepy at all. Draco stared at the entrance where Jack was standing and rolled his eyes and moved on without him. "Guess I'll have to find my way down there alone." he said quietly to himself, moving back a bit from the wave of Slytherins descending. He bumped into someone while he was backing up. "Oh, sorry, I-" his apology fell short when he turned around.

Pitch was standing there, in black robes like his old ones, hands behind his back, smiling at Jack. "Why, Jack Frost... fancy seeing you here."

Jack glared at him. "Yeah. Fancy." He turned to leave but Pitch side-stepped to the direction he was going.

"You're supposed to be going down to the dungeons."

"I know that."

"But you don't know where that is." he chuckled in amusement, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder and giving him a little push towards the stairs. "So I'll lead you there myself."

"I don't want your help, Pitch." he said through gritted teeth, wrenching his shoulder away from the man's grasp.

Pitch rolled his eyes and began pushing him down the staircase again. "Nonsense! There's no one else around to help you, anyway." he smirked, the grip on Jack's shoulder tightening. "Just keep walking, boy. And don't address your teacher by their first name, either." Jack followed the man's orders, but not with any trace of happiness that he was so full of from the train ride earlier. He wanted to run away from Pitch and fly away from here altogether. How could North think he would be safe here? Especially with Pitch as one of the new teachers, able to go where he wants all day... Jack tried not to shudder, but Pitch sensed his fear and grinned, nails digging into his shoulder.

Once they made it to the dungeon's entrance, Pitch let go of his shoulder and led him inside.

The dungeon was a rather dark place, but it was beautiful all the same. Green stain-glass windows covered the walls, and the entire common room compiled of of stone, gray bricks for walls and floors. There were several couches and seating places around the room. Jack awkwardly let the arm holding his staff fall to the side. Pitch gave him a little shove to get into the room. The frost spirit glared at him and Pitch only smirked.

There was a small, wide staircase that led to two different rooms in the back of the common room. Pitch motioned for Jack to follow and he did so with a growl of annoyance. Pitch opened the door of the boy's dormitory and gestured inside. "Come on, better get a good night's sleep." he chuckled darkly.

"Leave me alone," Jack snapped, turning to go.

"Jack?" Pitch's voice rang out in sing-song.

"_What_?" he demanded, whipping around.

Pitch threw something at him and Jack caught it, not knowing what it was until he heard a few chirps. He glanced down at Baby Tooth in worry, before directing his anger to Pitch. "I found her roaming the castle. I assume she slipped out of your pocket." he raised an eyebrow, amused at Jack's expression. "Best not let the important things wander off from you,"

Jack scowled and stormed off into the room, looking around at the beds lined u around the room. There was an empty bed next to Draco with his suitcase on it. He sat down upon it, setting the suitcase under his bed. H cupped the small fairy in his hands, questioning her, "Are you really alright?"

Baby Tooth nodded, thinking back to her brief kidnapping. She had chosen to wander off, but she didn't think she'd run into Pitch...

_Once Jack had started walking up to the castle, Baby Tooth felt a mass of entities crowding her. Of course, they were magic entities, but it surprised her nonetheless. So many things were here! Ghosts, animals, everything she could hope for as supernatural friends._

_The little fairy slipped out of Jack's pocket and darted through the crowd, careful to not be seen by anybody. Jack didn't notice her either. But she would only be gone for a few moments. She kept telling herself that and spurred on into the castle._

_Baby Tooth flew through the castle's great doors with a squeak and entered the hall, just marveling at everything the place had to offer. The long tables, the ghosts floating around... and the hundreds of children whose teeth she could collect when they were lost!_

_she took off up the stairs, down a random hall to her right, squeaking happily. Her cheerful voice stopped when a bony hand snatched her out of the air. "I remember you..." a dark voice said fondly, and Baby Tooth struggled harshly against the grip, trying to twist free of the man._

_She looked up in fear, and couldn't believe it! The Evil who stole the teeth, her sisters, and hurt her Mama and Jack! She squealed furiously, but the man clamped two fingers over her long, thin nose and mouth. "There'll be no need for that," he said, shaking his head. "You'll be back with your friend soon enough..."_

_He squeezed her body tightly in warning. "Make one little peep and I'll make sure it's not the Dark Lord that gets him first."_

_Baby Tooth's purple eyes blazed ferociously but she complied, not moving and not making a sound. The angry look stayed on her face. "Good girl," he cooed mockingly, stuffing her into his pocket harshly. The man then set off for the Great Hall, humming to himself as he did. After all, he didn't think it was proper to be late for the sorting._

Of course, she couldn't account everything word for word to help Jack understand it all, but he got the gist of it. He laid down on his bed, pulling the covers over himself, not bothering to change out of his robes. Baby Tooth nestled next to him on the pillow and he clutched his staff tightly, unwilling to let go of it, even when he was going to go to sleep. As he closed his eyes and one of the teachers demanded that it was time for sleep, he thought to himself, that this was going to be a very long year.


	4. Jack's First Day

**A/N:**_Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you. It's a pretty long one, and I hope you guys enjoy it! I had lots of fun writing it, haha~ Also, kudos out to my beta, StargateNerd (aka my sister). You guys should check her out sometime!_

_Also, I put up a poll for different possible pairings the story could have. I put a lot on there just because I want there to be a variety for people who have certain preferences and stuff. If a ship you like isn't on there, tell me in a review or PM me and I will add it! The poll will end in a few weeks, but I'm not sure when._

_And again, HOLY COW! Thank you all so much for the feedback! Gosh, it means so much. You guys are awesome! Keeping reviewing, favoriting, alerting, etc! Thanks for all the votes on the poll, too! Keep voting on it, please! The more votes, the better. I can put in ship teases too, if you like c;_

_Also, Jack writes a letter in this chapter, and due to him not receiving very proper education in his othe rlife, it has carried over to his new one. He learned to read later on in his second life but he still has some trouble with both reading and writing. So the typos in that section are intentional, just so you know! _

_Again, thank you all so, so much. The next update will be either on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday._

_Without further ado, enjoy~_

* * *

Jack was awoken from his restless sleep by Baby Tooth ramming her small body insistently against his cheek to get him to rise out of bed. "Stop it, I got it, I got it..." he said with a quiet groan, grabbing her wings to make her stop. She bristled; Jack knew she hated when anyone grabbed her wings.

He let go of the little fairy and she relaxed. Jack sat up in his bed, smacking his lips and still clutching his staff close to his chest. Looking around the room, he saw the other Slytherin boys waking up as well, though most of the beds were already empty. He stood up and stretched, cracking his neck and his knuckles.

He walked out of the room, a few boys trailing behind him and trying to push past, saying they had a lot of things to do and that they were all of great importance. Entering the common room, he saw Pitch and the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher - Severus Snape, wasn't it? - talking in low voices.

Pitch turned and saw Jack. Stifling a groan, he turned to go back into the dormitory, only to bump into Draco. "Hey! Watch it, Frost," he snapped, trying to push past him.

Jack was about to yell back when Snape interrupted him. "Draco!" the former Potions teacher called. "Come over here."

Jack turned to leave but was stopped when Pitch shook his head. "You too, _Frost_," he added with a sly smile.

Jack gripped his staff tightly in his right hand and stalked over with an annoyed growl. "What, Pi- I mean... Professor Black?" he said with a thick layer of annoyance. Pitch didn't seem to notice, or maybe he just didn't care.

"You will be accompanying Draco to most of his classes for the first few weeks during your stay here, until you get the hang on things," Pitch explained. "Basically, we need you to shadow him... though that won't be very hard for you at all, will it?" he added the last statement in a nasty undertone and Jack bit back a retort.

"What?" Draco scoffed. "I don't need this - this weirdo following me! Professor Snape, please!" he pleaded, turning to the other man.

"I've arranged it myself, Draco," Snape said, eyes narrowing. "And during this time, you'll both do your best to keep each other out of trouble... and there will be consequences if these instructions aren't followed."

Both boys nodded and grumbled under their breaths in anger. Snape handed Draco his schedule and walked off. Pitch handed Jack his schedule, hand lingering over his dangerously. He smirked when Jack yanked his hand away. "I'll see you in class, Frost. Hope you have... fun," he chuckled to himself as he walked away.

Jack stamped his foot against the stone floor. "I hate him," he muttered darkly.

"You and me both," Draco groaned, comparing their schedules. "Almost all the same damn classes... I have other things to do than babysit a transfer!"

"Hey! I have better things to do than follow an uptight jerk all day!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"I said it first!"

"Well I said it second!"

They angrily stormed out of the dungeon together, trying to push past each other. They entered the Great Hall and sat down together with more grumbles of protest. During breakfast, they both ate in silence, occasionally shoving the other in hopes of getting him to topple off the bench or spill jam on his robes. No such thing happened.

"What's with you?" the girl from yesterday asked, sitting beside Draco. "You look like you just got kissed by a Mudblood."

"Might as well have," he snapped, "since I've got to have this freak shadow me."

Jack frowned at Draco and kicked his shin under the table. He grunted in pain and annoyance and kicked Jack back. "Well, why?" the girl insisted. "Did one of the teachers make you do it? You can always ask Snape to help you get him off your back, you know."

"Just drop it, Pansy." Draco groaned. "He's the one who got me into this in the first place." Draco turned away from Jack while he continued complaining to her.

Jack took this moment to look over his schedule, which he had stuffed in his bag before he left the dungeon. In the morning, he had a free period right away, which he guessed was now. At least he could sleep in a bit. And later on it could help him do any homework he'd forgotten to do the night before. Then he had Defense Against the Dark Arts - great, dealing with Pitch in the morning was not going to be fun at all - then Herbology, a break for lunch, Potions right after lunch, a free period, Charms, and Transfiguration.

He heard from North that these classes would be extremely hard, but he wasn't worried. It didn't really matter if he passed any test or anything, did it? After all, he would be gone next year. Everything would be back to normal then.

He sighed and stuffed his schedule back into his bag. He'd deal with the future, well, in the future. Right now, he had to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Draco was already leaving the table and he slung his bag over his shoulder, cramming a biscuit into his mouth as he followed.

Jack arrived in class with Draco a few minutes early, but that was of course, because they had a late start in the morning and they were bound to be early. Draco muttered a good morning to Snape, and Jack did the same. The white blond boy did the same with Pitch, but Jack glared and turned away. This morning was not good so far, and he didn't want to wish Pitch good morning in the first place. Or wish him anything else good for that matter.

He sat down at a desk next to Draco rather glumly. A few of the other students were out of their seats, talking with each other. Jack looked up when a crumpled piece of parchment hit him in the back of his head. He frowned at it and unfolded it, reading the words scrawled on the page. 'Behind you!'

He turned and sure enough, a few tables back, Ron, Neville, and Hermione were sitting together, beckoning him over. He grinned and got up from his seat. Draco gave him a weird look before returning to his conversation with another Slytherin.

"Hey!" Neville greeted, patting Jack on the back as he took a chair and sat with them. "How are you, Jack?"

"Doin' okay," he shrugged. "I have to tail Draco for a few weeks to get around the castle, though..." he rolled his eyes and sighed.

"That'll be fun," Ron said sarcastically. "Good luck with that, mate."

"Jack, may I see your schedule?" Hermione asked, already taking hers out of her satchel. "We can all compare ours and see if we have any classes with you."

Jack laid his schedule next to his friends' with a nod. "That sounds like a great idea!"

After a few minutes of comparison, Jack found that he had Potions with Harry, Hermione and Ron; Herbology with Neville; and Transfiguration with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. They filled him in on Harry's schedule, since Ron had seen it earlier this morning. He didn't know about Luna's schedule, but he hoped that they had a few classes together, at least. Draco also had several of those classes, but Jack didn't care. He was just glad that he had classes with some of his friends.

"Shame you got sorted into Slytherin, though." said Ron, frowning. "I mean, with You-Know-Who's rise to power and all the filth that came from Slytherin and joining him..." he shuddered. "But I don't think you'll turn out like that... at least, I hope so. I mean, you don't seem the bad sort like Malfoy or Snape. Still... Slytherin? I mean, why would the Sorting Hat-"

"That's enough, Ron." Hermione said sternly. "It's not like he has a dark mark or anything and a shirt saying 'You-Know-Who's biggest fan'." Ron held in a snicker and she continued. "After all, Slytherin doesn't necessarily mean bad... usually."

Neville shrugged. "I don't think it matters. You're a great guy, Jack."

Cheeks heating up a bit at the attention, he coughed awkwardly and nodded his thanks. At the front of the class, Snape rapped the chalkboard harshly with his wand. "Students to your seat," he said sternly, eyes shifting to where Jack was with the other Gryffindors. He gave them a quick wave before ambling back to his own seat where Draco was.

Ron watched him as he went and shook his head. "He's too weird. I don't trust him." he muttered to Neville.

"Don't be such a prat," Hermione said. "He seems nice enough even if he's a little... odd."

"Now, if everyone would take out their books," he said. For several moments, the room filled up with sounds of people bustling through their packs for their textbook that Snape assigned for this class. Harry came in the door once he got his book out. Snape talked to him, and it sound something like Snape docking points and Harry muttering something incoherent before shuffling back to his seat; Draco smirked as he did.

Snape was prattling on about nonverbal curses, the refined dark arts, and Jack wasn't really paying that much attention. He was more interested in actually reading the book then listening to the teacher. He hadn't gotten to get a good look at it before, and he figured that now was a time as good as any. There were a lot of things about it that he didn't understand but the pictures were interesting enough, though he didn't understand captions written below them.

Jack looked up from his book when everyone started getting out of their seats. He looked up at Draco. "What's going on?" he asked dumbly.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Go find a partner. We're practicing nonverbal curses."

"What's that mean?" Jack asked, closing his book and standing up.

Draco groaned. "It means cursing or hexing someone without saying the spell out loud. Now leave me alone."

"No way! I need a partner and..." he looked around the room and grinned. "Everyone else is already paired up!"

If looks could kill, Draco would have had to find an appropriate burial ground for Jack's corpse. "Fine," he spat, grabbing his wand and pushing his chair in violently. "But don't come crying to me when I hex you."

Jack twirled his staff, holding it tightly in one hand as he moved to a more clear area of the room, like Snape had instructed. Now, Jack didn't actually know any spells. He hadn't had much time to study before leaving, so he had absolutely no clue what he was doing. He hadn't remembered many of the words or spells he had read just five minutes ago, and he didn't want to try any of them out yet. No, he could try something else.

He grinned and raised his staff, stopping when a voice called out to him, "Wands only, Frost." He glared at Pitch, growling in anger before taking out his wand. Well, he had frozen Ollivander's papers earlier. Or whoever had really sold him the wand. Perhaps he could still use it.

He turned back to Draco, who was sweating, face re and lips pursed with concentration. He raised his wand, thinking hard and trying to focus his energy into the wooden conduit, redirecting it back to Draco.

Without saying a word, he pointed it at Draco and a beam of ice shot out at him, freezing his feet to the ground. Everyone turned to look at them both and Jack was holding in laughs as Draco struggled restlessly against the bindings. He glared up at Jack, face scrunching into a murderous glare. It took a few moments, but a few other people in the class giggled. And soon the class was roaring with laughter. Snape silenced them by slamming a heavy book onto his desk, dust spreading through the room. He strode over to them, but it didn't wipe the casual smirk off Jack's face.

Snape uttered a spell and the ice around Draco melted in a burst of flame. The boy slumped onto a chair, trying to regain the feeling in his feet. He turned to Jack and scowled. "I suppose you think that was _funny_, do you, Frost?"

Jack shrugged, twirling his wand in one hand. "You said to use a nonverbal spell, didn't you? So I don't see what the problem is."

Snape's eyes narrowed and his lips curled into a cruel smile. "You could still use much practice in properly using the spells you're supposed to use... Since you're a transfer, and obviously have no sense of manners or intellect, I will dismiss your rude and crude behavior... but only this time." He looked back over to Pitch, who was leaning against the desk. "You have a free period in the morning, don't you?"

Jack frowned, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?"

"That time is now dedicated to extra lessons for you. Professor Black will assist you with it." Pitch looked up from the book he was flipping through and nodded, trying to hide the smile about to break out onto his face.

Jack shook his head. "No! You can't do that!" There was a murmur of surprise throughout the class. No one really stood up to Snape like that, especially not someone from his own house. They had no reason to. "I'm not taking lessons with... _him_." He gestured in Pitch's direction with a look of disgust which Pitch returned.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Blatant disrespect towards teachers and you don't follow orders well..." The man sneered. "It's a wonder you weren't sorted into Gryffindor. You will leave class now, Mr. Frost, and start your lessons. I expect to see you this Saturday to make up detention for the class time you'll have missed."

Jack looked very angry, and very ready to retort; his fingers curled angrily around his wand and he eventually nodded, glaring at the floor as he shuffled to his desk, harshly picking up his pack and staff. "Fine," he said. He didn't say anymore in fear of making it worse than it already was for himself. He was going to be sure to get Snape back later though. Preferably with a very vicious prank.

He started to leave the room, escorted by Pitch, who placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to usher him out. The hand was slapped away; Pitch looked amused and Jack looked annoyed. The two left the room and the door slammed behind them. Snape rubbed his forehead in irritation. "You will continue doing as I told you earlier." There was another moment of silence in the room. "Now!" he snapped, and everyone scrambled to get into their original positions and keep practicing; but Jack's disobedience was really the only thing on everyone's minds.

* * *

"I hope you're pleased with yourself," Pitch said as soon as they were out of the room. He sighed as he walked through the hallway with Jack, opening the door to an empty classroom and walking inside. "Do you really have to cause so much trouble for yourself, Jack?"

"Shut up!" he snapped, slamming his pack of supplies onto an empty table. He hated this place already. Or at least Snape and his class. Oh, and Pitch. _Definitely _Pitch. "This is your fault."

Pitch scoffed, drawing his own wand from his robes. "My fault? Really, Jack, don't be so shallow. Just because my presence aggravates you into getting yourself into trouble, it doesn't mean it's my fault."

"Shut _up_!" Jack repeated and groaned. "I don't want to talk to you!"

"That's so childish of you, but I don't know why I expected anything else." he rolled his eyes. "Now get down from there this instant." Jack was perched on top of one of the room's rafters, glaring down at Pitch. "Do you want me to report this to Professor Snape as well?" Jack reluctantly floated back to the ground, taking out his wand and glaring at the floor. "Good boy," Pitch said in a mockingly gentle tone. "Now, I'm going to teach you some basic spells. Firstly, _Expelliarmus_. It's used to disarm your enemy and is very useful if you use it correctly. Now, raise your wand."

Jack lazily raised his wand.

"You're doing it wrong," the Nightmare King chastened, walking over to him. He got behind Jack and adjusted his arms correctly. Jack tried not to squirm in discomfort; both at the physical contact he was always unused to, and that it was from Pitch.

"Do you have a boundary problem?" he asked oh-so-innocently, glaring up at Pitch.

Pitch rolled his eyes again and went back to his original position across from him. "Quit being such a girl." Jack growled but kept his arms steady, keeping them how Pitch positioned them. "Let me show you an example of how it works," he said. Before Jack could do anything to stop him, Pitch pointed his wand at the boy and yelled, "_Expelliarmus!"_ He was slammed to the ground and his wand flew out of his hand. The wood sailed in the air and Pitch caught it, smirking at him.

Dusting himself off, Jack got to his feet and snatched the wand away from him. "Yeah, yeah, got it."

He moved back into his original stance, raising his arm, and taking a deep breath. "On the count of three,"" Pitch instructed, "One, two-"

Before he could finish, Jack pointed his wand and Pitch and yelled "_Expelliarmus!_" A bright blue light hot from the wand towards Pitch, knocking him off his feet, his wand flying up in the air just like Jack's moments ago.

"... I said _three_," Pitch growled, staggering to his feet.

"The point was to disarm you, right?" He waved Pitch's wand tauntingly in front of his face. "And it looks like I did."

"How very funny and mature," Pitch sneered, snatching his wand out of Jack's hand and moving back to his place across the room. "Alright, we're going to keep practicing. In fact, let's see who can disarm the other the most, shall we?" Jack's smirk was all Pitch needed to continue. "On the count of three - and actually follow the count this time, Frost..."

* * *

Jack was in a happier mood after the lesson was over, specifically because he had mastered Expelliarmus and beat Pitch in his own game (they both argued over who won, but Jack knew it was him). He glanced down at his schedule. Next, he had Herbology. He hurried along to the Greenhouse, getting directions from one of the teachers, and became delighted when he saw Neville and Luna.

"Good morning Jack," Luna greeted with a smile. "Neville told me what you did to Draco... I wish I could have been there, it must have been great."

Jack shrugged casually, smirking. "What can I say? I like a good practical joke now and then."

"It was some joke," Neville laughed. "You should have seen him... he was sulking the rest of the class, soaking his feet in some warm water." He paused to look around warily, but after realizing Malfoy didn't have this class, he relaxed. "It was so funny. And other than you, Hermoine was the only one able to master a nonverbal spell... oh, and Harry had a row with Snape too! You two will probably have detention together."

"Sounds like fun!" Jack said sarcastically. "Bonding over our mutual pranks and rudeness."

Luna giggled a bit. "You two will get along well, I'm sure. I wish I was in detention too..."

Professor Sprout was instructing the class on some kind of plant Jack didn't understand. He opened his book to provide more information on the plant. He had fun looking at the pictures and reading the captions again, even if he didn't understand half of what Professor Sprout was saying. Once the actual work started, Neville offered to do most of it, "Just this once, mind you!" so that Luna could tell Jack more about the school and basically everything.

"And last year," Luna said as Neville dropped one of the plant's pods into a bowl, "we started up an organization called Dumbledore's Army, or D.A. for short. That awful pink toad woman tried to take over the school but it didn't work out very well for her, in the end. Harry was such a great teacher, though, and classes were so fun..."

"I kind of wish she was still here," Neville sighed, "or if there was something here to make Harry continue the lessons. They were a real treat."

"Sounds like it." Jack mused, extending his pointer finger to poke at one of the plant's flower petals. It twitched as a delicate layer of frost spread over it.

His friends both noticed it. After a few more minutes of silence, Neville spoke up again, "You're very odd, Jack, even for a wizard. Y'know? I mean, there's that," he indicated the flower that frosted over, "and Slytherins usually aren't very hospitable, especially to students from other houses. Though, I suppose it's a good thing."

Jack smiled a bit and nodded, hugging his staff close, watching frost spread over more of the plant, his fingers dancing across it. "Thanks, Neville. I guess I am kind of odd, but you're right; I don't see the point in fighting with people unless there's a valid reason for me to hate them," he said with a slight chuckle. Well, most of the time, he added silently. Even if Pitch didn't have malicious intentions at Hogwarts, he wasn't just going to be nice to him.

They all sat in silence for another moment longer and Neville showed Jack and Luna how to retrieve pods from the tree stump without getting too many scratches. Jack froze the plants' tendrils (being cautious under the watchful eyes of Professor Sprout), and that made the job all the easier. They received points, awarded to each of their houses for their feat of being the first group able to collect the required number of pods in the class.

"I must say, you three are an odd bunch! But all objections aside, ten points for Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw each."

They spent the rest of the class talking together and doing little bits of homework that they had gathered so far throughout the game. Jack thought they would have plenty more time, but only realized how late it was when the bell rang. Luna and Neville walked alongside him as they went through the halls, comparing Jack and Luna's schedules. "Well, we have Charms together later. I wish we had more classes together, though."

"You might not want that. I have to shadow Draco Malfoy for a week or two until I get the hang of things around here," he groaned.

Neville shrugged. "You can follow us to the classes we have together if you like. I'm sure he isn't too keen on the idea either."

Jack grinned. "I probably will. Besides, it shouldn't be too hard to get my way around this place."

The three parted to their separate house tables for lunch. Jack sat down next to Draco and they greeted each other with mutual grunts. Lunch had already started, it seemed, and Jack started to eat like the rest of his fellow housemates. A few minutes later, though, a multiple owls swooped in the room, flying all around. "What's going on?" he asked Draco.

"Mail delivery," he replied tersely before returning to his conversation with Pansy at once.

Jack rolled his eyes, and scanned the room to look at all the different owls. He was a little disappointed... he hadn't known there would be mail delivery But he supposed that it was natural. His thought was whisked away when something hit the back of his head, for the second time that day. He winced, cupping his hand to hold Baby Tooth. "Baby Tooth, what -" he froze, noticing the piece of paper she had clutched in her tiny hands. She offered it to him with a happy smile. Well, he didn't have an owl for mail delivery but he supposed Baby Tooth would do. Besides, he got a letter! He had never really gotten a letter before, not that he could remember.

He ripped the envelope open - judging by the sticker of a toothbrush in the corner, he could easily guess who the sender was - and unfolded the letter, beginning to read it and finish his lunch at the same time.

_Dear Jack,_

_I hope this gets to you on the first day! I don't know how often I'll be able to write to you, since I'm going to be out in the field more often now. I have to make sure the kids are safe now, you know? And their teeth too._(He chuckled at that and read on.)

_I hope that you're doing well in your classes so far and that you have made some friends. And most importantly, that your teeth are sparkly clean! Don't worry, I'm kidding about the last part - sort of. Remember what Dumbledore and North said to you - be safe, sweetie. And tell me all about your experience at Hogwarts! I haven't visited there in so long. I'll have Baby Tooth collect the kids' teeth there and send you letters whenever I can. Expect them from the others too!_

_You'll be able to come home for Christmas holidays, and you can give the world a great blizzard for Christmas when it comes around! That's when I'll see you next, I suppose. I'll miss you lots and lots! Keep those teeth sparkling~_

_XXX - Tooth_

Jack folded the letter back up with a chuckle, putting it in the pocket of his robes. It was great to hear from Tooth, even if it made him homesick on the first day. He didn't know how he was going to handle waiting to see them all until Christmas...

He got up from the table, cramming in one last mouthful of food. "Where are you going?" Draco frowned as Jack began to leave. "Potions is next, and you don't know where that is!"

"I know, I'll be right back!" he replied, already running out of the hall to the dormitories in the dungeon. After saying the password which Draco had helpfully told him, he made it to the common room, and then to the dormitories, and to his bed in a matter of minutes. He took out the letter and hugged to his chest briefly before putting it in his suitcase. He would store all of his letters in there. He grabbed a piece of parchment from his back and set it and a spare quill on the bed. He would write a response later.

Already having been through a whirlwind of emotions, but feeling like the day had just begun, Jack hurried back to the Great Hall, scarcely catching up with Draco in time to leave for Potions, which, as it turns out, was back down in the dungeons.

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully. Jack had fun in most of his classes - minus the ones where Pitch was leering threateningly over him, watching his every move with a strange glint in his gold eyes - and by the end of the day, was quite tired. He was curled up on a chair in the sitting room, next to a fireplace where the flames blazed green, doing what little homework he could understand (apparently some of the other teachers had been informed of some of his "special" circumstances by Dumbledore, though none of them knew the full story).

The warmth from the fire was comfortable, but it was uncomfortable for him and making him sleepy. Yawning softly, he packed up his things into his bag and walked into the dormitory. It would be lights out soon, so he decided to write his response quickly. Rushing back to his room, he collapsed on his bed, staff tucked under one arm while he formulated a reply to Tooth.

_Tooth,_

_it was great to hear from you. Thanks for sending me a letter, too! I don't think I've ever gotten a letter. Anyways, I'll be sure to keep my teeth super white for you. I'll try and have my class mates do the same too._

_Today was great. I made lots of frends on the train and at the school. Their names are Luna, Nevil, Ron, Hermoine, and Harry. I've been hanging out with them. I got sorted into Slitherin. I have to follow Drayco Malfoy around until I get the hang of things around here. It's actually been quite a wirlwind. I don't really know what to think of this place. I think that I like it._

_Also, Pitch is here. I have to take extra lessons with him to learn magic. But it's not fun with him being all creepy and stuff! I hate him still. Tell North, maybe he can do something. I don't want him heer. Can you ship him to Africa? I can't wait for Christmas so I can go back home and see you guys. I think that I even miss Bunny a bit. Don't tell him I wrote that._

_Keep sending me letters, I really appreshiate them._

_Your truly,_

_Jack Frost_

Jack bit down on the end of his quill, chewing the feathered bit endlessly as he went over the letter. He was never really good at spelling or writing in general... he had trouble with it in his first life and it seemed to carry over when he became a spirit. Oh well. He shrugged, rolling it up and tying a piece of string and handed it to Baby Tooth just as the lights went out.

Hugging his staff close, he drifted off to sleep quickly and Baby Tooth flew out of the school to deliver the later.

She arrived at the Tooth Palace a few hours into the night, and found Tooth still there, giving her fairies instructions as usual. Baby Tooth flew over to her with a chirp, holding out the letter. Tooth gasped. "He wrote back already? Oh, that's so sweet!" She smiled and read over the letter, giggling a bit at the errors in Jack's writing. She got to where he mentioned Pitch in the letter and read it over a few times. She sighed and gave the letter back to Baby Tooth.

"At least he's keeping up his part of the deal..." she said to herself. "Well, for now."


	5. A Girl and a Dream

**A/N: **_Wow! Thanks so much for all the feedback and stuff, guys! :DD Especially to the anonymous/guest reviews ;u; I'm really glad that you all like the story! And of course, thank you for so many people voting on the poll! Keep voting for your fave pairing! The poll will end at the end of the month, so keep it up until then~ I want to get a good general vote on what preferences people have before I make a decision.  
_

_Also, from now on, most chapters will have a bit of a time skip, usually a few days to a week. This takes place about mid-September. Also, book fans, please bear with me if there are annoying discrepancies. I'll try and keep it as true to the books as I can without mucking it all up :)_

_Chapter was beta'd by StargateNerd_

_Without any further ado, enjoy~_

* * *

And so, despite the current terrors happening in the Wizarding World, life went on in Hogwarts. Students attended classes, got into trouble, fell in love, and all sorts of... 'shenanigans'. Jack, his center being fun, was usually at the center of many of these 'shenanigans' that were going on in the castle. A few weeks had passed and it was near the end of September. Jack had grown quite comfortable pulling pranks on just about everyone in the castle. Those who had classes with Jack knew it was him, but no one was able to catch him in the act. Whenever they looked up, he was reading a book or writing, with a smirk on his face that either meant he had his next victim in mind, or that they had already been attacked.

And there was perhaps no one it infuriated more than Professor Severus Snape.

Cheerfulness annoyed him to no end, but Jack's blatant disrespect and constant pranking was rather vexing. That, and the fact that Dumbledore would tell him nothing more about the mysterious boy other than, "He needs our protection, Severus, and so here he shall remain. Do try and get along with him, will you?"

The assistant professor only seemed to be amused by it, though whenever Pitch was laughing or smirking at one of his jokes, Jack adopted a glare reserved just for him, and they had a staring contest of intense proportions. All in all, Jack was getting along with things rather smoothly in the castle. He had even been able to endure the lessons with Pitch (only with heavy amounts of sarcasm lacing each and every word he spoke to the Nightmare King).

With Hermione's help, he was slowly getting better at spells and understanding things on the homework. Neville helped him dealing with plants in Herbology, and Harry gave him good tips for Potions sometimes. Luna and Ron offered support and they had quite a few good laughs together.

Jack was even managing to get along with the Slytherins, though he seemed to annoy most of them, especially Draco. Though he was even getting help on his homework from Draco, so he suspected that he wasn't totally hated by him. That was a happy thought. All of these, and more, were Jack's thoughts in the span of a few minutes when he began dozing off in Charms. Luna shook his shoulder lightly to get his attention again. He sat up straight, nodding his thanks and listening to Professor Flitwick.

"... practice the Aguamenti Charm. Be ready for the test on it in three days." The bell rang and the students began to pack up their things. Jack left the classroom together with Luna.

"I've got to get to Transfiguration," he said. "D'you wanna meet up at the library after that?"

Luna nodded brightly. "Sure, that sounds fun! Can you get Ron, Hermione, and Harry to come along as well? I could get Neville and we can all just have a big homework party and read books together."

Jack chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good idea. I'll ask if they want to. See you there!" he waved a quick goodbye to his friend before running off to his next class.

He entered just a few minutes early, sighing in relief as he set his things down on the table where he always sat; specifically, next to Draco. The other greeted him without so much as a word, only inclining his head to show that he noticed his arrival.

The lesson seemed to fly by quickly for Jack, and even when he paid close attention, all the information went in one ear and out the other. Professor McGonagall informed them all that she would be testing them next on turning substances into animals. Boy, was he excited for that.

The bell rang in almost no time at all and he got out of his seat, going over to Ron, Hermione, and Harry. "Hey, do you guys wanna come to the library with me? I was going to meet up with Luna and Neville there for a little while before dinner."

"Sounds good to me," Harry shrugged. "I haven't got anything to do other than homework."

Ron grimaced. "Same here, mate."

The four students headed out of the classroom and to the library, bumping into Neville and Luna by the entrance. The six of them happily grouped together, they sat in a circle of chairs around a round table and got their homework out, getting down to business. Jack was plowing though most of his homework easily, and soon started on the essay. He was happy sitting there, doing his assignments, while everyone else talked in hushed whispers to break the silence from time to time, sharing answers and ideas.

"Hey, Jack," Ron called quietly. "You thinking of trying out for the Slytherin Quidditch team this year?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Quidditch?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "I'm just wondering, trying to get more information on the other teams and stuff if I can before the season starts."

Jack shrugged. "I don't even know what Quidditch is."

Ron and Harry exchanged looks. They looked positively horrified. "What d'ya mean you don't know what Quidditch is?"

"I just don't," he shrugged, jotting down the rest of his sentence on his Transfiguration homework. "I've never heard of it, I mean."

Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. "You've got to be joking,"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Quidditch isn't everything, you know."

Harry and Ron looked at her seriously. "Yes, it is," they said in unison in the most serious tones.

The group burst out into laughter at this, trying to be quiet enough to stop the prying stares from the librarian, Madam Pince. "I didn't know much about Quidditch until last year, Jack, so don't be worried," Luna said reassuringly, adjusting her spiral-patterned glasses. "It's fun to watch it when people crash into each other."

"Yeah, that's my favorite part too," Harry said enthusiastically, "especially when it happens to me."

There were some more quiet snickers and Jack grinned, turning back to his homework. He was currently working on his Transfiguration essay, which was about transforming materials into animal-like objects, like using water to make a cat.

_Or ice to make a bunny,_ he thought to himself, remembering when he first discovered that special ability when Jamie first started believing in him. Smiling, he continued to write, wanting to finish this quickly. He had some other homework to do before wanting to practice some more spells. He wasn't having too much difficulty with mastering spells and getting his homework done.

Harry was talking with Ron and Hermoine about Quidditch tryouts, wondering when he should hold them; Luna was still reading that odd magazine upside down with her strange glasses, and Neville was asleep in one of the armchairs. Jack snickered and nudged his friend with his staff He woke up with a start, his book falling onto the floor.

Neville rolled his eyes at Jack, who merely smirked as the other bent down to pick it up. Luna's eyes met Jack's when she lowered her glasses and they smiled at each other.

He set his essay aside once he was finally done, sighing in relief. Pulling some parchment from his satchel, he adjusted himself in the chair so that he was laying sideways, legs resting over the armchair as if it was a sofa. He received a mutinous glare from the librarian but ignored her. Chewing on the end of his quill, he stared at the blank piece of parchment he had pulled out. Maybe he could write another letter... he hadn't gotten a response from Tooth's last letter, which he had sent back a few days ago.

Jack decided to write to Jamie. He probably missed him, right? Grinning, he began to jot down his thoughts on the page to his friend.

_Dear Jamie,_

_I guess I can't tell you were I am right now, since I'm not supposed to. I am probably not even supposed to write to you, but I miss you and won't be able to see you for a wile. But I'm at this really cool place and I'm having fun! That's what's important! I will hopefully be home to see you on Christmas._

_Make shur that you are doing your homework too, or your grades will fail and you will end up living in a box for the rest of our life!_

_Anyway, I hope that you and Sofie are doing well. Do you have a girlfriend yet? It seems like you're growing up so fast, you'll be married before you noe it! I hope school is going good for you too. Write back wenever you can, I would appreshiate it!_

_Your Gardian,_

_Jack Frost_

Satisfied with the letter, he rolled it up and handed it to Baby Tooth, who discreetly fluttered out of the room. Luna watched her go, and jotted something down with a quill on the page of her magazine, which was scribbled with many notes already. Jack was officially done with all he needed to do now, and he closed his eyes, yawning softly. Damn, he could really go for a nap.

But before he could doze off like Neville had, a hand shook him harshly to rouse him. He near fell out of his chair, but managed to upright himself at the last second. Looking up to see who disturbed him, he relaxed when he noticed who it was. "Oh, hey Draco," he greeted, beginning to pack his things. "Time for dinner yet?" He knew the others were disgruntled by Draco's appearance and decided to make haste to leave with his fellow Slytherin.

"Yes. And Professor Black wants to speak with you afterwards, so hurry up." he said curtly, taking a moment to sneer at the rest of the group before turning on his heel and stomping off.

Jack sighed, rolling his eyes. Great, what did Pitch want with him now? He couldn't even leave him alone for five seconds without being called for some ridiculous reason. "Thanks guys, this was a lot of fun. I'll see you later!" He gave a quick wave before running off after Draco.

Ron frowned at the two retreating figures. "At least Draco isn't being an a-"

"Ron!" Hermione hissed, "Language!"

The Weasley boy rolled his eyes. "I was just going to say he's acting like less of an uptight prick lately..." he snorted, "For once." A few minutes later, they all packed up their things and headed off to get their own supper.

* * *

Dinner passed rather uneventfully, but Jack purposely ate as slowly as he could, mostly because he didn't want to face Pitch just yet. It had been a rather good day, and he didn't need it wrecked. So he took his time with his dinner until finally, a half hour later, Pitch rose from his chair and went over to the Slytherin table.

"Jack," Pitch said, "I need to see you in my office."

Jack raised an eyebrow, chewing a mouthful of steak. "Now?"

"Now," Pitch repeated in a tone that told Jack that there wasn't room for debate. Repressing a sigh, Jack hefted his staff over his shoulder and got up from the table. He followed Pitch out of the Great Hall, trying to ignore everyone's prying stares. They made it to the classroom Pitch had been using to train and he opened a door in the corner, which led a smaller room, much like some of the other teachers' offices (not that he knew what those looked like or anything because he definitely hadn't pranked any teachers at all).

Pitch sat down at his desk and crossed his arms, gesturing for Jack to sit down on one of the chairs. Feeling nervous, he did so, casting the other wary glances.

"I've called you here per request of Albus, Jack. He wanted me to talk to you," Pitch said.

Jack laughed. "It's so funny you think I care!"

The other scowled at him. "North sent you here to keep you out of trouble, yes?"

Jack, a little surprised, managed a nod. "So?"

"You know that this is all for your own good, right?" Again, Jack nodded slowly, not wanting to say anything. He wasn't sure if he even should; it was strange to him that Pitch knew this. "Well, it is... per request, that you are put under my care. I'll be supervising you, and keeping you out of trouble if the Malfoy boy can't."

"Draco can do it on his own just fine," Jack said quickly, "I don't want to have you following me even more than you already do."

Pitch chuckled and stood up. "And why not? Trying to hide something, Jack?"

The youth became silent, not having a response. "But," Pitch moved away from his desk and began to pace the room, "there are some rules and regulations you'll need to follow while I'm... taking care of you. Firstly, you will not go out of school grounds without the supervision of a student in your year or another teacher or without my permission. If I tell you not to do something, you won't do it. Just listen to me and you'll be fine." He leaned over Jack, raising an eyebrow. "Are you following?"

"What happened to following Draco around?" Jack demanded, leaning back in his chair to get away from Pitch.

Pitch frowned, withdrawing a bit. "Professor Snape has informed me that the boy has other obligations, and with you under his jurisdiction, it will restrain his limited time he has for his duties." He clasped his hands together.

"What duties?" Jack demanded again.

"You just have a plethora of questions you ask to aggravate others don't you? Nevertheless, this is for your own good!" He smirked down at Jack, flashing his sharp teeth. "You'll behave, won't you, Jack?"

"No," Jack said. "If someone would just tell me what the hell is really going on, I'd be a lot more willing. And especially," he stood up, "if it wasn't you. I came here to be safe, Pitch, not to have you order me around."

Pitch narrowed his eyes. "It's for your sake and yours alone, boy. Learn to be grateful. The important thing is, if I think you're stepping out of line-" he stepped very close into Jack's personal space and his breath hitched, the scene reminiscent of that Easter so long ago when Pitch offered him his memories, "-it will be in my power to do all I can to stop you from causing trouble. So, you be a good little boy and stay out of the way of everyone else, or else you're going to get yourself killed," he spat.

Jack forced himself to back away, keeping his staff pointed at Pitch. "Leave me alone," he growled. "I don't even know what you're talking about. Just go back to that hole in the ground, it's where you belong!" Fury blazed in Pitch's eyes and in one sudden movement, he had swiped Jack's staff out of his hands. "Give it BACK!" Jack yelled in protest, hands scrambling to reach it, but Pitch kept it high out of his grip.

Glaring cruelly down at the boy, he pushed him back with one hand, the grip on the staff tightening. "It's time you learned a lesson, Jack Frost. I'll gladly teach you the same thing I did on Easter. If you want to be left alone... again... then so be it." Both hands gripped the staff and raised it high.

"NO!" Jack screamed and covered his eyes, waiting for the inevitable snap that would cause him that heart wrenching, spine rattling pain. It never came. After a few moments, he opened his eyes, shaking and trembling just because Pitch was so close to breaking his staff. Instead, the Nightmare King stood there holding it with a cocky smile on his face.

He laughed and threw it back to Jack, who fumbled with it, pulling to close to his chest. "Let that be a lesson to you, boy. Listen to me and keep your head down and you'll be fine. If you don't, well..." He eyed the staff and smirked again. "Then you'll just have to deal with the consequences."

Cradling his staff close to his chest, Jack took a few stumbling steps backwards, bumping against the door. When Pitch made no move to stop him, he flung it open and ran, ran blindly down the hall, not once looking back. The only reminders of his visit were Pitch's cruel cackle echoing in his ear, and the frightening sound of his staff being snapped, his own self so cruelly severed, so long ago.

* * *

The Great Hall was just about empty when Jack arrived in it and he stopped running, trying to catch his breath as he skidded to a halt. Supporting his weight on his staff, he started walking to the dungeons. He hated Pitch... he hated him so much. Glowering bitterly at the floor, he continued to trudge across the hall into the dungeons.

Jack vowed that he would write to North and demand that he take Jack out of here and away from Pitch. Then he would go home and be back to his lake and play with Jamie and his friends and not have to worry about Pitch. A little happier at this thought, he continued down the staircase. He stopped suddenly when he heard a laugh.

It wasn't like Pitch's, no, it was much more soft and innocent. He stood up straight and looked around. Behind him stood the small, translucent figure of a little girl. Long hair hung down in her face, and she brushed it aside and smiled at Jack. She giggled and pointed at him, before beginning to float away. "W-wait!" he shouted, trying to will her to stop.

Floating in midair, the girl smiled at him and motioned for him to follow her. She was starting up the staircase and he had no other choice than to follow, if he wanted to find out where she was going and where she wanted to lead him. And more importantly, why? He raced after her, because the girl just seemed so familiar to him... He had to run to keep up with her, the little ghost twirling and flipping in the air happily, letting out laughs but making no other attempts at conversation. Jack was confused, but still, something in him compelled him to follow the girl.

After a while of desperate attempts not to get lost and to keep her in his sights, Jack finally caught up, panting hard. He leaned against his staff to keep himself upright again, and glared at the girl. "You're a lot of trouble, you know that?"

The ghost girl covered her mouth with her hands and giggled, landing on a windowsill. Jack peered out the brick frame of the window, and was met with the slowly starring sky of the twilight. The sun was just barely up now, the warm orange glow mixing with dark blue. The sky was speckled with little bright stars. Jack held his breath at the beautiful sight. He climbed onto the edge of the open window of the tower, sitting cross-legged and across from the girl. "Any particular reason why you brought me here?"

The little girl only laughed, biting her lip. Jack raised an eyebrow. "Can't you speak?" She shook her head. "Well why not? You can laugh, can't you?" She laughed again and opened her mouth. Jack started a bit; the girl had no tongue. She smiled at him and laughed as if to reassure him that it was alright. "How did it happen?" he asked softly.

The girl looked out the window. Her gaze set on the sky, she pointed out the window. Jack's blue eyes met the bright moon that was shining in the sky. He scowled. "Should've known that bastard had something to do with stuff like this..." he paused and then smiled apologetically. "Er, sorry for the language." The girl only laughed harder at this, covering her mouth, her body shaking.

Jack pouted. "That's not nice." But he chuckled too. A few moments of silence passed spoke before he spoke again. "Who are you? Can you remember? Can you tell me?"

The girl nodded at first, and then shook her head. "You know who you are, but you can't tell me." He rubbed his chin, thinking hard. "Do you know how to read? How to write?" Again, the girl shook her head no. Jack sighed in frustration. How was he supposed to find out who she was if they couldn't actually communicate?

An idea struck him and he grinned. "I-I could teach you!" he exclaimed. The girl cocked her head to the side, puzzled. "E-English! I could teach you English, and-and... sign language! I could teach you, and... and then you can tell me who you are!" The little girl happily jumped up at this, going through part of the wall in her excitement. Jack laughed and got off the windowsill to properly jump in excitement.

Remembering the starlit sky and the rising moon, he groaned. "Crap... I have to get to the dungeon quick, before Pitch or Snape finds something else to get me in trouble for," he grimaced. The ghost grabbed his hand, and Jack was surprised that he could hold it. Then again, maybe it was because he was a spirit too... He squeezed her hand back with a smile. "All right. You can take me back then." She nodded with enthusiasm.

Jack was led by the little girl through a secret shortcut in the walls of the castle that led to the dungeons. He kicked at a trapdoor and arrived in the bathroom of the boy's dormitory. He closed it back up quickly, covering it back up with bricks. He grinned, dusting himself off. He was in the boy's dormitory a few seconds later; and a good thing, too, because everyone was getting into bed. Draco looked up from where he was stuffing his bag under his bed. "Where the hell have you been?"

Jack laid down on his bed and shrugged. "Got lost after my, ah, conversation with Professor Black," he said curtly, getting under the blankets and pulling his staff closer to himself than he had in all the nights he'd stayed here. He wasn't going to let Pitch try and take it in his sleep. He forced the rush of his thoughts to calm down and forced himself to go to sleep. But he quickly changed his mind. In fact, he wouldn't sleep tonight. No, he would wait for everyone else to go to bed. But he had a good reason for it.

Jack liked to watch the Slytherins sleep.

No, not really in a creepy sense, because that was what Pitch did all the time. He didn't really require any sleep, so he could stay up doing homework or just thinking as long as he wanted and not feel tired in the morning. Of course, if he went on for several days without sleep, he would crash, but that didn't happen very often. And he hadn't done it that much during his stay here, so it would be all right if he did it tonight, even if the days' events had been taxing on him.

He liked pretending to be asleep and then when everyone else had gone to bed, he would watch the Dreamsand that danced above their heads. It was beautiful. He was learning more and more about them, without actually having to strain himself by talking to them. The golden sand danced above only a few students tonight, making Jack a little sad. He liked staying up longer to look at all of the dreams. He could always sneak into the girl's dormitory, but he was afraid that someone would catch him and give him an undesirable label.

He found himself on Draco's bedside, watching the gold sand dance above his head. It was an image of a family; it had to have been Draco's own. Jack smiled a little, leaning his head on his staff as he watched. He loved to see happy dreams. Especially if it was happy dreams for his friends. There was the smallest bit of a smile tugging at Draco's lips on his usually scowling face. He got off of Draco's bed and walked around the room to examine the other dreams. They all slept peacefully, with happy smiles.

Jack wished he could actually see Sandy, though, instead of just seeing his dreams. It would be nice to talk - not that Sandy really talked out loud, but he might be able to ask him about sign language - to one of the Guardians. They could help him. But of course, he was busy as always, and didn't have time to dawdle about on his job. Jack sat back down on his own bed, feeling tiredness begin to overtake him. Funny thing, though, he wasn't very sleepy. It was the feeling of depressing tiredness.

Rubbing his head, he started taking slow, deep breaths. Dammit, he felt... weird. It was like his consciousness was being split in two different places at once, and he didn't like it at all, not one bit. His vision swam in and out for a second and he frowned, rubbing his eyes and trying to make sense of what he was seeing. He tried concentrating harder on the vision and felt himself being sucked into it.

_It was a dark room, there was a burst of red light and a scream-_

-his staff fell out of his hand, an intense wave of pain and dizziness hitting Jack as he fell onto the stone floor. Darkness took over and he was trapped in the vision.

_"You did as I asked, did you not?" a high, cruel voice demanded. There was an old man in front of him looking worn and quite beaten. He seemed familiar, but Jack could not quite place his face._

_"Y-y-yes! I did, my Lord, I swear it! B-but it... it will take some time for the curse to take effect!" the old man sobbed and held up his hands pleadingly, trying to somehow protect himself from the wand that was pointed at his forehead. "I-I swear it to you, my Lord! It will happen, but th-these curses take time!"_

_"Time, Ollivander?" the voice sneered, digging the tip of the wand into the man's forehead ever so slightly, making him wince in pain. "I have all the time in the world to wait... but I'm afraid that you do not. Now, tell me, how long will it take?"_

_The man cried out even though it looked as though nothing had happened to him - yet. "Please, I beg of you! S-spare me! "_

_"How long will it take?" the man repeated, his fury stabbing through Jack like a knife. A flash of red light and another scream followed._

_"A-A few months a-at most m-my Lord!" The weak,trembling man stuttered out. "M-Maybe... between February and March? I-It needs time to gain a foothold in his body and brain, my Lord!"_

_The wand was removed, and twirled in his hand for a few moments. "Very well. Is that really is all that you wish to tell me?" He pointed the wand at Ollivander again. The old man screamed and begged incoherently for mercy, and before it could be delivered, there was a sudden spike of realization._

_Jack suddenly knew the man could sense he was viewing this too, or maybe someone else was along with him, because the man screamed, and Jack distinctly heard the word 'they'. Ollivander was screaming too, begging for mercy and forgiveness, but somehow Jack knew he wouldn't be pardoned. Anger and fury slicing at his very soul, he forced himself out of the vision, succumbing to blackness once more._

"Jack!"

Jack's eyes flew open and he yelled in surprise, springing to his feet. "Merlin, calm down! You're giving me a bloody heart attack..." Jack, panting and wide-eyed, turned his head to see who was waking him up. Draco was standing there with a grimace on his face. "You look terrible." That was probably the nicest thing Draco had ever said to Jack. "What the hell happened?"

Jack blinked several times, trying to clear his mind. "Wh-what?"

"You were lying on the floor," he said bluntly. "Almost looked like you were twitching. And you were mumbling too." He almost looked - dare he think it - worried for Jack. Just a tiny bit, though. "You woke me up..." He could tell that Draco wasn't pleased to have been woken from his pleasant dream.

"Thanks," Jack said breathlessly, picking his staff off the floor with a slow sigh. "Th... thanks..." he muttered again. The vision was lingering in his mind, sucking away at his energy. What did it all mean? Whatever it was, it made him sick to his stomach every time that he thought of it. "Just... go back to sleep, Draco," he said. "I'll be fine."

The blond cast Jack a skeptical look, but readily returned to his bed, falling asleep in a few minutes. Jack looked at the sleeping boy with envy. Jack settled back on his bed and didn't sleep for the rest of the night. His thoughts were filled with images of the little ghost girl, the two men in his vision, and memories from a lifetime ago that he couldn't reach. Poor Jack had no idea just how hard the next month would be for him. Starting with this night, it would all go downhill.


	6. Going Downhill

**A/N:** _Heeeeeeeeere's another chapter~! :D A bit of a shiptease in this one, if you don't mind. But it actually relates to the plot, so please bear with me if the ship is not to your tastes. There is a reason for everything! _

_Again, thanks for all of the reviews, alerts, favorites, and votes on the poll! It means a lot that I've gotten so much positive response for this story ;u; This chapter was beta'd by StargateNerd. Also, is anyone objecting to bringing other characters into this? Maybe from book!verse, or brief appearances from other fandoms? Tell me what you think!  
_

_Also, just a thought, but if anyone wants to or has drawn fanart for this (I would love you forever and give you my firstborn), I'd love the link for it~_

_Anyways, enjoy the chapter~_

* * *

"Don't you think it's odd?"

Draco looked up from his breakfast, towards Pansy, who had asked him the question. Being a wizard, he of course had experienced many odd things in his life (and some of them had happened very, very recently). Over a month had passed since Jack Frost had come to their school and he was none happier than he had been when the boy first arrived. It was already annoying to deal with on a daily basis, and they were two weeks into October. Currently, Jack was sitting on the other side of Draco, seemingly pondering over the book in his lap, but eyes fixed on a teacher; the same teacher he'd been staring at ever since he arrived at the school.

Professor Black.

"What's odd, Pansy? The fact we're wizards? That we go to a magic school? Perhaps that we have different kinds of idiocy we get to experience every day?" he grumbled in a sardonic attempt at humor, jabbing at his breakfast toast with the knife he'd been using to butter it only moments ago.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Yes Draco, very odd. Go choke yourself on some pumpkin juice, you stupid prat. I'm talking about... _him._" She gestured towards Jack, sending him a suspicious glance.

"Yeah, he's annoying and a bloody fool, I don't see what's odd about that. The only real odd thing about it is that he's been sorted into Slytherin. I usually expect those kinds of things from Gryffindors," he sneered. If Jack had heard him, he was pretending not to, eyes still fixed on the man a few tables down.

"There's that, but..." Pansy put on a confused grimace. "Y'see how he stares at Professor Black all the time?"

Draco shrugged, taking a bite of toast. "He's pretty creepy, I don't really blame him for that particular fault."

"That's not all," Pansy frowned, hitting Draco on the arm to silence him. He looked mildly annoyed, but nodded for her to continue. "I mean, he stares back at him. And Jack's always looking angry at him and Professor Black just looks... amused. Smug, even. Look, he's doing it right now!" She pointed across the stretch of tables with her fork, and sure enough, Pitch was enjoying his soup, smirking at Jack while he sipped it. "If I didn't know any better, well... I would say he's-"

"Mental?" The boy took a gulp of orange juice.

"-smitten," Pansy finished with a definitive nod.

Draco choked on his orange juice and it spilled out of his mouth onto his plate of food. A few people gave him weird looks, and some were stifling laughs and giggles. Blaise Zabini, who was seated next to Pansy, only just started paying attention to her conversation then. "Easy, Draco, easy," he said, forcefully patting him on the back while Draco wiped his mouth with his robe sleeve. Jack still hadn't noticed what they were talking about. He chewed a biscuit, slowly, deliberately, glowering at his opponent.

Once Draco could speak again, he gave Pansy the most disturbed and incredulous look that he could muster. "Pansy, that has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. _Ever._ And I hang out with Crabbe and Goyle."

"Gotta agree with Draco on that one," Blaise said with a frown, a bit of concern lacing his tone. "Someone hex you this morning?"

She groaned, hitting her hands against the table in frustration while new, unspoiled food appeared on Draco's plate. "I'm serious!" Her face flushed a bit in embarrassment. "I mean... they're _always_ staring at each other and Black's always touching him on the shoulder or just looking at him in a certain way and it's just..."

"Creepy?" Blaise offered.

Pansy shook her head, smiling and leaning her elbow against the table, head resting against her hand. "It's adorable, that's what it is."

Draco nearly choked again but this time it was just at the notion, not with any help from his breakfast. "You really are sick, Pansy. Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey." Blaise and Draco grabbed her arms and began to drag her up off the bench. Pansy struggled to get away from them, and soon, all three of them were holding fits of laughter as they sat back down to finish their food.

"But seriously, I can't be the only one who's noticed it," she said with a firm nod, taking a bite of sausage.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Give me some solid proof first."

Just as he said that, Pitch rose from his chair, apparently having finished his food now. He walked over to the Slytherin table, standing behind Jack. Draco noticed him grit his teeth. "Jack," Pitch said with the strangest tone, a smirk on his face. "You're going to be late for our lessons if you don't finish your breakfast." Jack said nothing, chewing his biscuit thoroughly. Pitch waited patiently, humming something under his breath and examining his nails.

Jack slammed his book shut, startling a few of the students who'd been dozing over their breakfast. He got up from his seat, cramming the book into his sack and grabbing his staff. Pitch offered a toothy smile and Jack glared, hefting his staff over his shoulder when Pitch tried placing his hand on him to guide him down the hall. They left, Pansy, Draco, and Blaise losing them in their sight of vision when they entered the crowd of students rushing off to their morning classes, talking excitedly about the upcoming weekend, including the trip to Hogsmeade.

Pansy shot them both a knowing look. "You see?"

Draco shook his head, and got up from the table. "He was just being..."

"Teacherly," Blaise offered, standing up as well.

Pansy huffed, blowing some hair from her eyes in annoyance. "You guys suck. There's something going on between them. At the very least, they know each other. Or, they knew each other before all of this."

"Well, that's a very big difference," said Blaise, "than suggesting one of the teachers being in a relationship with a student."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "I never _said_ that, Blaise."

"_Technically_, you didn't. No, I recall that you said he looked smitten." Draco raised an eyebrow pointedly.

"Oh, just hush up!" shrieked the girl, quieting with embarrassment when she gathered some stares. "I'm going to find out what's going on between them," she said boldly, crossing her arms. "That'll show you both." She grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and walking away pompously with her nose in the air.

Draco rubbed his forehead in agitation. "Everybody's losing it, I swear... some year this is going to turn out to be." _Especially with the 'job' that I have to do..._Draco tried not to shudder at the thought and grabbed his bag, turning to Blaise.

"I guess I'll see you later, then." Blaise said, and, patting Draco on the back encouragingly, bade him goodbye and went off to take care of his own homework before his first class.

Sighing in annoyance, Draco decided to go find a quiet place where he could lay low until he was forced by his own conscience to go to his classes. He already missed two assignments in Transfiguration and didn't need more detention. He might have been looking forward to the Hogsmeade trip, too. He went off into the castle, without paying attention to where he was going, and unaware of the room he would soon stumble upon.

Meanwhile, Jack and Pitch were in the middle of their lesson. And it wasn't going very well.

As soon as Jack entered the room, he tried to speak to Pitch. He had been working up the courage to confront him about the nightmare, or whatever it was. He just couldn't get it out of his head. He was even starting to struggle a little with his schoolwork, though not too noticeably. He stayed up late and worked hard to maintain good grades. "Hey, Pitch, I-I need to talk to you."

Pitch rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "Later, Jack. We have to get through the lesson first."

He frowned in frustration. "But it's important!"

"I'm sure that it can wait a bit," he said airily, straightening his robes and withdrawing his wand from one of his pockets. He instructed Jack to move to the other side of the room, who, grudgingly did so, still trying to interrupt Pitch. "Drop it, Jack," he said sternly, cutting any other attempt at conversation. "Let's just get on with this and get it over with. If you still wish to tell me after the lesson, then you can explain to me just what is so important." Jack glared, but he kept his mouth shut so that they could proceed.

Lessons with Pitch had unfortunately not been as successful as the first time they had been on Jack's first day of school. After the initial feeling of victory towards mastering one spell, he was suddenly having trouble learning any more, and got in constant arguments with Pitch, barring any chances they had of being successful. Especially after the fiasco where Pitch pretended to break his staff. His mind was still solely focused on the girl and the vision. Jack wouldn't pay attention very well, so Pitch had issued an extra lesson on the weekends. It was a bad idea. In fact, it gave the Nightmare King such fierce headaches he didn't know why he agreed to it in the first place.

"Alright, let's try this again," Pitch said through gritted teeth, raising his wand. This had been the fifth failed attempt at the spell this morning that they had been working on for the past three days. Despite his quickness to catching onto his first few spells, it was getting more difficult as time passed. And Pitch was rapidly losing his temper, despite the cheery facade he had earlier. "The spell is called _Impedimenta_. Repeat after me, Jack."

"_Impedimenta_," Jack said slowly.

"Good. Remember, Im-ped-i-men-tah." Pitch said, putting an emphasis on each syllable. "Say it again."

"Imped... Im...depin... empa?" he mumbled uncertainly.

"Louder, Jack."

"Imdepinempa."

"_Impedimenta_."

"Inmepeminpa?"

Pitch groaned loudly in frustration. "It's Impedimenta, you stupid boy!"

Jack, looking startled at the insult, yelled back in reply, "It's not my fault you're a terrible teacher!"

"Well you're too incompetent to learn anything properly! You're unteachable! You're not even bothering to try it at all! Would you just stop screwing up?"

"I'm not screwing up!" Jack shot back, grip tightening on his wand, icy sparks shooting from the tip. "I am trying!"

"Oh really? Well the Jack Frost I know wouldn't be so terrible, even at _this_, if he was really trying! You're a stubborn ass, Jack."

"You don't know me, Pitch."

"I know you better than you think I do, Jack." Pitch hissed. "I told you before, and I will tell you again. You're Jack Frost, and you're a big screw-up with whatever you try to do. If you're not going to bother to learn this, at least for your own benefit, then I don't want you here. So just get out of here already! The lesson is over and I am _sick_ of having to deal with you." Jack just stood there for a few moments, staring at the ground in shock. "Leave!" Pitch repeated angrily.

Jack was still just standing there. He was confused by this outburst. And he was mad. He was really mad now. After a few moments, he finally slammed his staff against the ground harshly, a cold wind bellowing through the room. He was out the door in a matter of seconds, but Pitch didn't care. He had too much on his mind, and he had too much going on to deal with Jack.

A harsh stabbing sensation at his cheek brought him back to his sense. Baby Tooth was fluttering there, looking furious. She squeaked nonsense, jabbing Pitch everywhere she could reach. "Ow - stop - you blasted little - okay, okay!" With a growl, he seized her in his fist. "What did you expect me to do? The boy can't learn anything! If he can, he's not trying hard enough!"

Baby Tooth squealed something else angrilyr, trying to get Pitch to relinquish his grip. He sighed, collapsing onto one of the chairs in the room. "You don't think I know that? I am trying... I've been _patient_, I've been _gracious_..." Baby Tooth rolled her eyes. Pitch ignored her and continued. "It's his fault anyway. I didn't sign up for this..." He sighed again, resting his head in his hands and letting the small fairy go.

Baby Tooth chirped softly and nudged his forearm with her beak. "I'm not apologizing!" he said quickly, crossing his arms and looking away. "That boy needs to learn to control his emotions better. If he hasn't gotten control over them in three hundred years, I doubt he ever will."

Baby Tooth frowned and flew up to meet Pitch at eye-level. He glared back into her pink eyes, understanding her silent message. Jack couldn't because for three hundred years, he had had no one there to help him. "Stupid little fairy," he huffed, flicking at her wings with his bony fingers. She squeaked indignantly and stabbed his fingers back with her beak. He scowled at her in silence.

"I won't-" he started, but his sentence fell short at the look the little fairy had given him. "Fine, fine..." Pitch grumbled to himself as he stood up, grabbing the boy's bag and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

By the time that Pitch had dismissed Jack, the halls were inhabited by small groups of students who were looking for private places to study during free periods, or rushing to get to their next classes. The lesson had gone extra long and dragged into the next period. Jack didn't care. When he was running, head down, he vaguely heard someone call out to him. He passed Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville but just kept running. He was mad. He was angry. But he was... devastated, too. He thought things were going well for him here. But then again, how could they? Things couldn't go well for him; not if Pitch was here with him too.

After a while of running, Jack stopped, panting, and realized that he had no idea where he was. He recognized the place after a few moments, though, as it was where he first met the little girl. There was an open window surrounded by stone bricks ahead of him and he looked out it. It displayed the grounds of the school. From the tower, he could see almost everything. He sat on the windowsill, one arm and leg dangling out the window, that same arm holding his staff. He missed the little ghost. He hadn't seen her in a while. She had left, and his own problems arrived.

Right now, he wished that stupid potion he took didn't work. He wanted to be invisible again, so that not even the Guardians or Pitch could see him. Not Jamie or Sophie, not even the Moon, with His prying eyes and bright beams revealing all that He shined down upon.

Why couldn't he just do something right for once? He didn't know why he was having all this trouble suddenly, but he felt shaken. Using magic wasn't really fun anymore, it felt more draining than anything else... unless it was with his staff. Then it calmed him and made him feel happy. Everything went awry once he had that stupid vision. He had spent many nights awake recently, jut to avoid the stress of dreams. He had still been trying to decide when to approach Pitch about the nightmare, but now he had changed his mind entirely.

Jack curled in on himself, shivering. While he was up here, he might as well do something... He slowly stood on the windowsill, stooping a bit since he would bump his head if he was standing at his full height. He gently floated down out of the tower, making sure to be careful no one else saw him. He wished it was winter already so that he could make it snow. Though, a little extremely early frost never hurt anyone did it?

Chuckling a bit to himself, he tapped the stone near the window with his staff, watching as frost spread over it. Leaning back on his staff, Jack looked at the gray tainted sky. He wanted to fly away into it and go back home... Home, with the other Guardians and Jamie and Sophie and the lake...

Here, in Hogwarts, it was definitely fun; but it subdued him, somehow, to be away from the lake. It subdued him to be away from his home. He didn't understand why he had to stay here, why he couldn't be where he had been for the past few years, living up his very hard-earned peace and happiness.

Anger and frustration building up, he shot a beam of ice at the castle. It eased the weariness of his mind a little bit. Releasing his tensions through bursts of ice and magic always had that effect on him. He needed to release his tensions. Swallowing a sigh, he began to fly around the castle, careful not to be by any windows where students or teachers might be lingering; and he just flew around the school grounds for hours and hours.

But, deciding enough was enough, he closed his eyes and began to float further down to the ground. The school grounds were mostly empty. He was glad. No one would see him. He could slip out of here unnoticed, the precautions given to him by Pitch be damned. Jack's feet touched the ground with the nimble grace that he alone possessed. He began to walk, away from the school. He passed a gate, and was walking towards a cabin with a rather odd patch of pumpkins by it. He shrugged and continued walking, about to pass that too, when he heard a strange noise.

Instantly alert, Jack crouched down, holding his staff close to his chest, eyes darting in every direction for the source of the noise. It was a rough, raspy sound, coming from the trees beyond the cottage.

Curious now instead of worried, Jack slowly stood and began to edge towards the noise. He was on the last stretch of grass provided by the cottage and he was so close to the forest he could reach out his hand and touch the bark of the trees, their leaves rustling ever so slightly in the ominous chill of the wind.

It all came crashing down when a hand suddenly clamped over his mouth and something began to pull him back. Letting out muffled protests against the hand, he tried everything he could; kicking his legs in every direction and biting down on the hand. It insistently pressed down upon him, though, arms encircling him in a vice grip.

The rustling became louder and Jack could distinguish strange grunts coming from whatever it was. A raspy growl emitted from the creature he couldn't see as the figure pulled Jack close, the two resting against the cabin wall. The hold seemed almost protective, now, instead of threatening. He closed his eyes, waiting with bated breath for whatever it was to pass. The arms tightened firmly around him.

A few more moments passed, and whatever it was passed on, though Jack was still frightened long moments after. Realizing the stranger still had a hold on him, hand over his mouth, he bit down hard to catch the other by surprise. They let out a strangled groan and Jack turned around to face his assailant, staff drawn. He let out a little gasp of surprise when he saw who it was. "Pitch?" He took a step back.

Wringing his hand, Pitch nodded, looking annoyed. He was carrying Jack's bag in his other hand. Baby Tooth fluttered over to him, voicing her concern with little chirps, nuzzling his face repeatedly in worry. "Yes, it's me," he sighed. "You're not allowed outside of the school's grounds. I told you that earlier."

Jack looked past Pitch and the cabin to the forest where the thing had disappeared to. "Why not? What's over there?" he pointed to the trees, his anger at Pitch momentarily forgotten.

"Nothing you need to know about," he said, placing his hand on Jack's shoulder and beginning to steer him in the direction of the school. "Isn't it time you got back your classes?"

Jack shrugged off Pitch's hand. "I dunno, should I? I'm just a screw-up, aren't I? Can't even get a simple spell right. Doesn't matter to me." Though it was obvious to Jack that it mattered very much. That was the thing about Jack; his heart was always worn on his sleeve, intentionally or not.

Pitch sighed, annoyance and slight concern knitting at his brow. "Jack, please don't drag this on. I came here to..." he trailed off, and Baby Tooth nodded encouragingly. Pitch growled and hissed out through his gritted, shark-like teeth, "I came here to apologize... for getting mad and blowing up at you like that... only because you don't deserve my anger... right now, that is."

Jack raised an eyebrow; he was pleased and confused at Pitch's apology. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

Jack smirked, leaning on his staff. "Apology accepted."

Pitch rolled his eyes. "But you still need to get a handle on your emotions. You can't just go running off as you please because your feelings got hurt. It's called dealing with people, Jack, and you'll have to learn how to do it properly during your stay here."

Jack slouched a little, puffing out his cheeks. He rolled his eyes too and grumbled something nasty under his breath, followed by a curt nod. That was about as good as an apology he would get from Pitch, and part of Jack realized that he was right. Nodding in satisfaction, Pitch clapped a hand on Jack's shoulder again, ignoring the protest. "Right. Then let's get back to the castle."

Pitch was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and Jack heard heavy footsteps thudding against the ground. "Professor Black?" a deep, gruff voice said.

Out of sheer curiosity Jack spun around to see whoever it was. The man was obviously the resident of the cabin, but he was several feet taller than Jack, not to mention wider. He was like a giant. The man had bushy long hair and a beard, and was wearing a rather tasseled coat with dark pants, and boots spattered with mud.

"Oh, hello Hagrid." Pitch greeted with false cheerfulness. He needed to get Jack inside the castle right away. "Jack here was just feeling sick and left the castle to get some fresh air - silly of him, I know, but we should get him back to the castle so he can continue his schoolwork-"

Hagrid shook his head. "If the lad's not feelin' too well, I can just fix 'im up a quick batch of tea! Get 'im right on his feet in no time 't all. 'Sides, he can get th' homework from someon' else!"

Jack shook his head. "That's very kind of you, um, Mr. Hagrid, but I'm really all right-"

"Nonsense, m'boy!" He clapped a heavy hand on Jack's back, causing the lightweight boy to stumble forward, coughing from the sheer force of the pat. "Y'look a little pale anyways, and it'll do yeh some good! I'll explain th' situation to yer teachers later. And yeh can jus' call me Hagrid." He smiled proudly as he opened the door. "Dumbledore said to be expectin' yeh any day now, and not ter refuse yeh when yeh got here. 'N I don't got any classes to teach till next hour."

"Th-thanks, Mist - er, Hagrid," Jack managed to say. Though he was sure Snape especially wouldn't be too happy that he'd missed his classes, he wondered how Dumbleore knew he would eventually come here. Was he omniscient? Or just that wise? And he was a little sad that he would have to leave Harry and his friends alone in the class without himself to brighten the mood in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Snape hated Harry and his friends even more than he hated Jack.

Hagrid led Jack and Pitch inside the small cabin. In fact, it seemed much too small even for Hagrid. There was a small table and some chairs, a few bookshelves, a sink, a fireplace and a little stove, but that was about it. The half-giant hummed to himself as he got some water into a tea pot and began to heat it on the stove.

A vicious looking dog trotted up to Jack, whose gaze had been fixed previously on a barrel of large, writhing maggots, growling and sniffing his staff. He immediately pulled it out of the dog's reach, not wanting for it to become a chew toy. The dog huffed and turned back to Hagrid. "Don' mind Fang, he jus' likes ter play..."

Jack nodded, unconvinced, and directed his attention to the window. The trees were still now, and he didn't hear the growling sounds from earlier. "What do you think is out there?" he asked.

Hagrid looked out the window. "Hm? Oh, the Forbidden Forest? Naw, there's nothin' too bad out there... that is, if yer careful."

Pitch finally spoke up for the first time since they entered. "Most of the creatures are fairly docile if you don't get on their bad side... but ever since You-Know-Who took over, well, there've been a few more dangerous additions to the forest..."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And it's safe here?"

"Is it safe? _Safe_? It's Hogwarts, m'boy, of course it's safe!" Hagrid said, setting down two teacups next to his visitors. "Finest wizardin' school in the world, and safest place too." Jack nodded, lifting his cup to his mouth and taking a brief sip. It was too bitter for his liking. Wrinkling his nose, he set it back on the table. Hagrid seemed to have noticed and chuckled. "'S a rather acquired taste."

Jack nodded, eyes darting to Pitch briefly. He was rather enjoying his tea. The spirit rolled his eyes. "I appreciate this Hagrid, but... Snape's gonna bite my head off if he finds out this is why I missed his class."

The gamekeeper shrugged. "Don' worry 'bout Snape, Jack. Yeh shouldn't need ter be punished. An' the worst he can do is give yeh detention."

Jack's shoulders lumped and he relaxed. "Thanks," he said quietly, closing his eyes and breathing a sigh of relief. Fang was sitting dutifully on the ground, and sent Jack a curious glance. He smiled and reached his hand out to pet the dog. Fang stiffened at the contact, but after a moment relaxed, and leaned into Jack's touch, large tail thumping happily. Jack smiled softly and scratched the dog's ear affectionately. Another long howl from the woods made him jump out of his chair in alarm.

Hagrid shrugged. "'S nothin' much ter worry about. So, er, if yeh don' mind me askin', what brings yeh here this fine day?" the large man asked, taking a hearty sip of tea. "Usually only Harry, Ron, and 'Mione come and visit. Tho, they bin busy wit other things lately..." His expression darkened a bit and Jack felt wary until the cheerful Hagrid returned, looking at him expectantly for an answer.

"I-I was getting too tired of staying in the castle. Too boring for me." He shrugged a bit, tilting his cup and watching the dark tea swirl. "And I needed some fresh air."

"But of course," Pitch interjected with a nasty smile, "he forgot all about the lesson that he had with me. And that his other classes are mandatory as well. He has a lot of catching up to do still, before he is at the same level with the rest of the students in his year." Jack scowled and Pitch hid his smirk behind his tea cup. "Being a transfer student is difficult, you know."

Hagrid nodded knowingly. "Mh. Transfers weren' very common back in my day... got more common as they years gone on. Lil' bit 'o trouble keepin' up here 'n there... tho they were all pretty good kids." He shrugged, smiling and affectionately slapping Jack on the shoulder. He suddenly reminded him of North. "Guess that's why I haven' seen yeh around much, since yeh got some classes with the fifth years. 'O course, since so many people are leavin', Albus had to mix some classes so we didn't have too many small ones..." Hagrid paused, stroking his beard. "Say, do yeh know who was the bloke that decided ter freeze Malfoy's feet? And, while we're on the subject, froze Filch's cat?"

Jack smirked a little, shrugging his shoulders. "I might know the guy."

Hagrid chuckled deeply. "Seems to me, Mr. Frost, that yeh enjoy a good prank yerself sometime! Fred 'n George should enlist yeh... I'd usually report yeh to the staff, but just this once, I'll let you off the hook."

Jack laughed in reply and nodded. "Thanks... I do love playing tricks."

Before Hagrid had a chance to reply, a loud, long howl cut through the air. All three residents in the cabin froze, and Fang whimpered softly. "Tha's weird..." Hagrid frowned, rubbing his long beard. "Wonder what's got 'em so agitated. They'll calm down in a lil' bit..."

Pitch, however, seemed to disagree. Eyes narrowed, he stood up. "Jack, come with me. We're going back to the castle." Jack frowned. Pitch turned to Hagrid and said, "Thank you for the tea, Hagrid, but there's something urgent that I need to attend to." Dismissing both the gamekeeper and boy's questions, he grabbed Jack's arm and started dragging him out of the cabin.

"Let me go-"

"Quit struggling," Pitch said harshly gripping his arm to still him. Jack shuddered at the slight pain and stopped moving. The sky was a dull grey, and the chilly autumn wind ruffled his hair, as if whispering for him to obey the order and calm down. There was another howl.

"What the hell is that?" Jack demanded as Pitch dragged him along back to the castle.

Pitch spoke after a few tense, silent moments. "I have an idea." That was all he said to him. It was more eerie to Jack than the silence and the howls.

* * *

They made it to the castle a few minutes later, and as soon as they entered the Great Hall, the two of them encountered Snape. "Ah, Frost," he said with narrowed black eyes. "Skipping out on classes are you? Good thing my colleague caught you in the act before you could cause anymore trouble. A shame, but you've already missed dinner."

Pitch rolled his eyes and ignored him, starting off towards the dungeon. "I'm not in the mood, Severus," he said. "Jack was with me, having his lesson and it ran a little long. He wasn't-"

"He wasn't causing trouble? I find that hard to believe." Scowling, Snape followed them as they descended down the stairs. "You can't just let him skip out on his punishment, _or_ his classes, Pitchiner. That is not how this school is run." His lips curled into a sneer. "No matter what Potter thinks to the contrary."

Pitch's grip moved down to Jack's wrist and it was a bit more gentle now. Jack's brow furrowed in confusion and Pitch continued his story as if Snape had not interrupted him. "Jack wasn't feeling well after his lesson, so I took him outside for some fresh air. Then we had a tea party at Hagrid's. It was just _lovely_, Severus, you should've been there." He stopped, frowning at Snape. "I don't have a clue why you're so interested in our personal affairs. Don't you usually bug that Potter boy about it? Or Longbottom? Besides, detentions are menial and useless. Everyone needs fresh air now and then."

Snape scowled again, his expression darkening, and Jack knew that Pitch hit a nerve. "I won't dock points from my own house because of the foolhardy actions of teachers and incompetent students," his gaze lingered on Jack, who stuck his tongue out at the man, "but I won't hesitate to give the boy detention for the rest of the year, if he thinks it's something so idle that it may be skipped."

"Request denied," Pitch called, already walking further down the staircase. "It's not your duty to decide the boy's punishment, Severus. I remember that Albus explicitly said that he was under my supervision, and that someone assigned you to look after Draco. And of course, don't forget-"

"-I will not be so easily ignored," Snape interrupted with a growl as Pitch said the password and entered the common room. "I don't care if Dumbledore thinks the boy needs special treatment." His eyes noted the grip Pitch had on Jack's wrist.

Scowling, Pitch took a step in front of the boy - it almost seemed protective - and, after a moment, let go, turning to Jack. "Go sit over there," he said quietly. It was said in a rather stern voice that reminded him of an overprotective North. He simply nodded, and walked over to Pansy, Blaise, and Draco, who were sitting in chairs by the fire.

"Jack?" Pansy raised an eyebrow. "Where've you been all day? Are you alright? You look awfully pale..." Of course, Jack was always very pale, but he seemed paler than usual. The other two boys shared Pansy's concern, but did not voice it. He didn't answer her. His stomach churned and he concentrated on breathing slowly.

"With... Pitch. I-I mean, Professor Black," he managed to reply. "Felt really sick, so... outside... went to Hagrid's too..." He tried recalling the day's events but they were strangely fuzzy to his mind.

His eyes flickered to where Pitch was arguing with Snape, but the words were not registering in his ears. He couldn't really hear anything... it was like it was being underwater, the words muffled and inaudible to his ears. He ignored everyone else around him and started walking, and then it turned into panicked pacing.

He wanted to get out of here again. He wanted to be gone. As he was walking out of the common room, towards the staircase, he spotted Pitch again. Their eyes met for a brief second before Jack continued his brisk pace, avoiding everyone and everything. Pitch was calling out to him. He was out of breath, it was getting hard to breathe. He slumped against the wall, taking deep gulps of air. Shit. He couldn't concentrate, couldn't breathe, he couldn't-

-Jack stopped when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Jack," Pitch said slowly, squeezing his shoulder to steady him, "get to bed. You look dead on your feet." The few students that were still in the common room were staring at him and he felt Snape's eyes bore into the back of his head.

A few more moments of silence passed, the only sound the flickering in the fireplace, until Jack relaxed and nodded. He didn't feel like arguing with Pitch right now. "All right," he sighed, shoulders slumping. "All right." He gently shrugged Pitch's hand off and stumbled his way into the boy's dormitory, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. A little while later, the rest of the students followed in suit.

The next morning, Draco tumbled out of bed with an annoyed sigh, still confused on the events to the night prior. It looked like Pansy was right about Professor Black; he seemed to know a bit too much. Too much for Draco's liking, and apparently Professor Snape's as well. He looked over to Jack who was still asleep on his bed. "Wake up," he said, nudging his shoulder. He didn't stir. Raising an eyebrow, Draco shook him harder. "Jack, wake up." Still no response.

Draco sighed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Just get up, dammit!" he said, turning Jack over so that he could face him. He was met with a surprise when he did. Jack's cheeks were warm and flushed, his eyes closed. He had a slightly pained expression on his face, and his breath was coming out slowly, as if he was trying to steady himself after running a long distance. "Jack?" he asked uncertainly. "Are you feeling alright?"

Jack shook his head weakly, trying to get himself to sit up. "Not... really..." he mumbled, before collapsing back onto the pillow.

Draco slowly started to walk out of the room. "I'm... going to go get someone. Don't... don't go anywhere."

Draco caught Professor Black just before he started to leave, calling out to him. Pitch turned around and asked, "What seems to be the problem, Draco?"

"Jack," he said, noting that the professor's eyes widened a fraction. "His face is really red and I think he's got a fever. He doesn't look too well at all..." In fact, he seemed to appear even worse than he did last night.

Before Pitch could reply, though, Jack came stumbling out of the boy's dormitory, leaning heavily on his staff as he made his way over to them. "Don't worry!" he yelled. "I'm... absolutely fine!" He coughed into his elbow and rubbed his eyes. "Now, first class!" He said, trying to go up the staircase. "Deafness Against the Dark Arts!" he slurred, almost tripping over his own legs trying to get up the stairs.

Pitch looked at him in amusement, before pulling Jack gently back from the staircase. "You need to lie down for a bit. Draco, you can go," he said to the student. "Jack's always had a bad reaction to heat, so I'm guessing this is what state a fever puts him into..." He sighed and started to help Jack up the stairs. "I'm going to get him to Madam Pomfrey's. I reckon he should be fit in about a day."

Draco was left staring at the staircase even long after the two of them left. Someone bumped into him and he snapped out of his daze, turning to see who it was. Pansy stood there, looking extremely satisfied. "Told you," she said with a smirk, leaving the common room.

Draco sighed and followed her. He didn't have time to worry about Jack, but the boy would end up in his mind eventually; he caused too much trouble for his own good. He wanted things to get back to normal, but it looked like it wouldn't happen for a while. Beside, things had always been weird at Hogwarts, even without Jack. And that was how Draco preferred it.


	7. Hermione's Snooping Shenanigans

**A/N: **_Hey guys! I tried giving this chapter a bit of fluff, cause fluff is good uwu There's some friendship between the HP characters, which relates to the plot and is important later on. Lots of important stuff is later on xD_

_Anyways, thanks again for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites! Keep voting on the poll, there's only a few days left! Pairings will be decided sometime in March (if any). There are bound to be some canon Harry Potter ships, just fyi. Thanks again, guys!_

_This chapter was beta'd by my sister StargateNerd (who is giggling over the TARDIS pizza boxes from last night)._

_Enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review~_

* * *

The throbbing in Jack's head felt like a large drum pounding in his skull. He was sure that the heat would cause blisters to form all over his skin until he was red and raw. His throat, dry and scratchy was of basically no use. He couldn't speak at all.

Visions of people swam blearily across his eyes. Cold water that was placed on his head turned warm again in a few minutes. He dazedly hugged his staff to his chest, knowing it as his only comfort at the moment. Bony fingers brushed across his forehead every once in a while, stirring him just enough to keep him awake.

But eventually, he became too tired to keep his eyes open any longer.

_"Jaaaack?" The young girl by her brother's bedside shook him gently. He only moaned in response. "Mama, is he okay? Is he sick?"_

_An older woman, carrying a cold, damp cloth, walked over to her children and sighed. "Jackson has a fever, he could be contagious. Go outside and play with your friends."_

_"Bu-but I'm don't wanna go outside without Jack! It's no fun if Jack isn't with us..." She crossed her arms stubbornly. "And I'm worried for him."_

_A short laugh came from the bed, followed by raspy coughs. "Hey, don't worry about me... I'm fine..."_

_His mother sighed in relief, stroking her son's hair back off of his forehead. "You're awake..." she sighed and shook her head, placing the damp cloth on Jack's forehead. "Next time, wear shoes going outside. I told you Jackson, it's winter, and there's enough work to do without you getting sick..."_

_"I'm fine," he murmured. He closed his eyes again and pointed at his sister with a small smile. "They're of more use to you than me." They were having trouble affording shoes for his younger sister, so he had opted to give her his own so she could play in the snow, though they were a little big. He did it so she would be happy. He always did ridiculous things because of her._

_"But Jack, I don't want you to get sick!" she protested worriedly. "It's not worth me having fun if you get sick."_

_A few tears collected in her eyes and she turned away, sniffling softly. Jack sighed and pulled an arm around her, kissing the top of her head. "Tell you what. Once I'm better, we'll have some fun... I'll teach you to skate. Don't need shoes for that. Know where the skates are? The ones you got for Christmas?" Listening intently, she nodded slowly, sniffling again._

_"Well I'll take you to the lake," he said, smiling. "And then you can give me my shoes back. Deal?" He opened his eyes and wiped away his little sister's tears._

_She giggled and nodded, hugging Jack briefly. "Deal."_

Jack sprung up in his bed with a start, the cloth falling from his forehead onto his lap. He panted, still believing he was in the memory - or dream, whatever the hell it was - and it took a few minutes for him to really process where he was.

It was a big room, with many beds and long curtains that hung on stands next to them, in case they need be drawn closed for privacy. His staff was tucked right next to him in his own bed, and his fingers curled around it instinctively for comfort.

After a few minutes, he stopped gasping for breath, calming down. He ran a hand through his messy hair as he collapsed back onto the pillow. He heard the distinct sound of a page turning.

"Well, you're finally awake. I was wondering when you'd come around."

He bolted up again, turning his head to see Pitch sitting in a chair beside his bed, reading a book and looking positively bored.

"What are you doing here?" Jack finally managed to say, trying to process everything again. The pounding in his head had significantly dulled but he was no less confused.

Lips curling into a sneer of disgust, Pitch said, "I was assigned to make sure you were doing well. You have a fever, you know."

"Yeah. I noticed." said Jack, rolling his eyes. He was getting rather hot again after the initial shock of waking up. He collapsed back onto the bed, sighing quietly.

Pitch raised an eyebrow. He turned another page in his book and asked, "What did you want to tell me about yesterday?"

"Huh?"

He sighed in annoyance. "Before the lesson."

Jack sat up a little straighter, nodding. "Oh... oh right, that..." He scratched his head and exhaled slowly. "I, uh... had a nightmare... or a vision, or something and I thought... you might be behind it... or know anything about it..."

"Unfortunately, the pleasure of giving you a nightmare isn't available at the moment," said Pitch with a look of utmost regret. "The headmaster would have my head on a stick. I assume it was some kind of vision." He frowned a little, turning another page. "Was it, perhaps, a vision of your past life?"

Jack shook his head. "No... I mean, not then, anyway. I think I might've had one just now..." he rubbed his forehead and sighed. "That doesn't matter. It was an old man... and he was being tortured by someone. I think... his name was Ollivander," mumbled Jack. "He sold me a wand, but Neville said he was the last one to get one from him before he went missing... Did he just make a mistake?"

Pitch's frown deepened and he tsked to himself, shaking his head. He closed the book, marking the page and setting it on his lap. "Well, that's very strange," admitted Pitch, "but I don't think it's anything to worry yourself over. I suspect it's part of what has made you so distant recently." Jack looked away.

"Just try and rest while you're here. I can imagine it isn't very fun to lie in bed all day. It's almost as bad as having to watch you do it." Jack rolled his eyes and Pitch chuckled.

Thinking over the events of the last month reminded Jack of the little girl. He had made no progress in communicating with her; she simply hadn't been around. "Hey, Pitch. Do you have any books on... reading?"

Pitch frowned at the boy. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Like, you know. Reading. Learning to read? And write, too, I guess..." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and continued, "I never really got a proper education, I think... I mean, I've learned some stuff but I want to learn more..." If he had some books then he could help the girl and find out who she was. But he really did mean what he said to Pitch. He did want to learn. He could ask Hermione for some books later if Pitch had none.

"My best guess is that you should try the library... but seeing as you're immobile, I may as well do it myself." Sighing dramatically, the Nightmare King got up from his chair and started to leave.

Grinning, Jack laughed and hesitated for only a moment before saying, "Thanks, Pitch." He paused in the doorway for a moment, looking at Jack curiously, before rolling his eyes and leaving. Jack was too nice, too trusting of people for his own good. After all Pitch had done he should have been hated by the boy. But he was somehow glad that wasn't the case.

* * *

Hermione, for once, was not focused on the day's lessons at all.

She had finished all of her work easily, which left her with time to think; to think and to wonder about one person in particular: Jack Frost.

She had wanted to get away from her friends yesterday - specifically Ron; they weren't on good terms and she wanted some space - and had wandered across the fields. While she was reading a book while sitting under an old tree, she noticed something in the sky.

At first, she thought it was one of the students on their broomstick, because that's what it looked like the figure was carrying. But upon further investigation, the person was not riding the stick. They were holding it with one hand, and staying afloat.

Even for a wizard or witch, that was strange. Perhaps someone was bewitching the student or casting a spell on them. But they looked perfectly at ease, if not a little angry, flying around the castle. It was almost as if they were being blown around like an absurdly shaped napkin.

The figure landed on the room of one of the castle's towers, handing onto it with one hand and looking out onto the grounds. In an instant, Hermione finally recognized who it was.

"Jack?" she gasped out, her voice an astonished whisper. She was very confused on just how he was able to fly like that, but even worse, he had been flying around there for a while. Had he skipped class? That was probably why she hadn't seen him all day.

"I'm going to give him a piece of my mind when he gets down from there," Hermione said to herself decidedly, opening up a book and stubbornly planting herself on the ground. Skipping class was unacceptable; and he was already behind from being a transfer student. She would definitely be helping him catch up on his studies and reprimanding him for skipping. She had fallen into this sort of routine with Ron and Harry so it wasn't going to be anything new.

But a few hours later, she was still sitting there, watching Jack flying around in the sky. As far as she knew, there weren't any sorts of spells that could really keep someone aloft for that long, or allow the person fly so easily, as if the wind was being manipulated by his will.

She slammed her book shut and crammed it in her schoolbag, leaving the grounds for the library. She had some research to do on this.

After poring over many books, looking for anything to provide a clue as to Jack's suspicious behavior, she was no closer to an explanation than when she had first begun looking. Baffled, Hermione left the library to find Harry. She decided not to tell him about all this, though. She didn't want to raise any suspicions unless she was absolutely sure.

The next day, when Jack was not in class again, Hermione had the suspicion he had skipped again. But seeing as Professor Black was not present in class either, she assumed something had happened. They had a strange sort of relationship, the two of them. It stoked her curiosity and made the young witch think like she never had before.

She would definitely be keeping an eye on the two of them.

The bell rang, signaling the class's end, and Hermione left without giving so much as a glance to her friends. She did not mean to be cold - unless it was to Ron, because then she didn't really care - but she needed time to think.

Maybe Hermione could make a list of suspicious things about both of them and then compare them to what little information she had gathered from reading. Maybe she could try looking for their names somewhere in the library. Jack Frost, after all, was a mythological figure. There was bound to be something that could relate to the Jack that she knew.

Or she could just honestly ask Jack what he'd been doing. She wasn't really one to fish around sneakily for information she needed. But when Hermione heard Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson arguing on the way to somewhere and Jack's name came up; well, she couldn't help but linger for a moment to hear what they were saying.

"-telling you, they at least know each other!"

"Sod off Pansy, I have enough on my plate without worrying about Jack," groaned Draco.

Pansy huffed, clearly annoyed. "You can't deny that he's been acting weird, you know! He missed class yesterday after his lesson. Come on, at least keep an eye on him? Ask him some questions, maybe? He looked so sick last night, too-"

"Just ask him yourself if you're so curious!" Draco snapped in agitation, shoving her away from him. He looked as if he regretted the decision and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I just-" He cut himself off with another sigh, running a hand through his combed back hair. "Find someone else to help you with your snooping."

"It's not snooping," she grumbled. Still, she fiddled with her hair a bit nervously, looking at Draco. "Be safe, okay?" Pansy requested quietly. "I don't know what you're doing, and I know you won't tell me, but..." She hesitantly took his hand. "If you need to talk or if you need help, you know I'm here."

Draco's cheeks were a little less pale now and he nodded, squeezing her hand back. "Alright." He let go and started to walk away, giving her a half-hearted wave. "I have to go meet up with Crabbe and Goyle. I'll... see you later."

Pansy nodded curtly and waved back, watching Draco long after he left. The Slytherin shook her head and looked away. She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. Hermione decided that it was now the time to make herself known, and stepped from behind her hiding place in the hall to where Pansy could see her.

She stared at Hermione in shock, and then her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here, filthy little-"

"I didn't come here for a fight," Hermione said briskly, cutting her off before the offensive word could escape the other's lips. "I came here for information."

Pansy scoffed and crossed her arms, turning away. "Have a little infatuation with Draco? Because I don't even know what he's up to, so-"

"I'm not talking about him," Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'm talking about Jack. Jack Frost."

Pansy looked puzzled at this. "Well, why do you care? I thought Gryffindors hated Slytherins."

"Some of you are tolerable, at least a small fraction of the time."

"Oh, I'm so flattered," said Pansy mockingly.

Hermione continued. "I'm trying to find out more about him because of what I saw yesterday."

A flash of interest showed on her face, but Pansy quickly masked it with another apathetic expression. "Oh really? What makes you think I know anything?"

"I know you're at least curious to find out about him. And Professor Black."

"So you've been eavesdropping, have you?" she snapped.

Hermione raised her hands in a placating manner. "I just want your help, Pansy. It's fine if you don't want mine."

The girl's expression softened a bit and she turned away with another scoff. "Stupid little girl. Stupid _mudblood,_" she practically spat the word out, and Hermione tried not to look offended. "I'll admit my friends and I aren't the kindest, to any of you, but... but then you come and pull a stunt like this..." She gave Hermione a steely glare. "You've got guts, Granger."

"More brains than anything," she replied matter-of-factly.

Pansy's lips twitched for a moment, as if she might smile. She straightened up a bit and cleared her throat. "So, what exactly did you see? Not that I'm going to help you if you tell me anyway..."

And now Hermione had a strange sort of friendship with two Slytherins. Of course, no one would know about her and Pansy meeting. They had decided to meet in the library later and 'just happen' to run into each other in the infirmary when visiting Jack. It was nothing, if not just a start into some kind of friendship between the two houses.

* * *

Hermione would have suggested that Harry accompany her to visit Jack while he was in the Hospital Wing, but he proved to be busy. And since there was no way she would ask Ron, she told Luna and Neville. They heartily agreed to see how their new friend was doing, since they had not seen him yesterday, or at all the current day.

"I heard that he got a fever," said Hermione as they walked down to the Hospital Wing, "but I don't know much else."

"Sounds like the Hykrangs to me," Luna offered, nodding her head.

Neville shrugged. "Maybe that's why he wasn't in school yesterday, after we saw him running?"

Hermione shook her head, but said nothing more. The others would question her if they knew that she knew about Jack skipping. After a few minutes they made it to the door of the Hospital Wing and Hermione began to knock, but stopped when she heard voices.

"-absolutely sure?" That was Dumbledore speaking

"Yes. He wanted to tell me yesterday, but-"

"You didn't give him a chance to tell you." There was a hint of slight amusement in the Headmaster's voice and Pitch grunted something in reply.

"Are we eavesdropping?" Luna asked Hermione quietly, trying to peek past him, her voice effectively erasing from her mind what Dumbledore and Pitch were currently talking about. A bit startled, she remembered that her friends were also there. She cleared her throat and shook her head quickly, but Luna had a strange knowing smile on her face. Hermione knocked again, a little louder this time, and entered.

Both teachers looked up to see the students entering. Madam Pomfrey appeared, trying to push them back. "He's resting! You can't just crowd in here! He has a fever!" she said fiercely.

Dumbledore chuckled again and walked over to her. "It's alright Poppy, they just wish to visit their friend. That's why you're all here, correct? Good, good... I shall see you all later." He gave the students a little wave with his blackened hand, eyes lingering on Jack for a moment. Then his blue eyes turned to Pitch. "We'll continue this another time."

Pitch nodded curtly, letting his posture deflate once Dumbledore left. He rested one hand against his head, letting out a slow sigh. "I'm not paid enough for this," he complained to himself quietly.

The three students took seats beside Jack's bedside. The boy was sleeping peacefully, staff tucked in next to him as it always was when he slept. Papers and books were scattered on his bedside, rustling the sheets, an obvious sign that he had been trying to catch up on his homework (Hermione looked rather pleased at this). The Gryffindor looked up from Jack to Pitch. "Professor Black, er... what happened to him?"

Hermione completely expected for Pitch not to tell him anything, but she was happily proven wrong. "He decided to cut class yesterday since he wasn't feeling well. A while later he looked like he was going to faint and he woke up this morning with a fever."

"He doesn't look very good. We should bathe him in ice," Luna said wisely, tucking some stray hair behind Jack's ear.

"I can't believe he skipped class," Hermione said in a soft voice, looking absolutely horrified.

Pitch chuckled a bit. "Always getting into trouble, he isn't he?"

There was a brief moment of silence and Hermione spoke. "Professor Black, sir, if you don't mind my asking, why were you and Professor Snape arguing?"

"You're very informed to know that, Miss Granger," Pitch said, his head resting against one hand, the other tapping his fingers idly against the armchair's side, "but it doesn't matter. Let's just say we have a few... differences."

Hermione nodded slowly and settled into her chair. She looked at Jack somewhat worriedly. "He will be all right, right?"

Pitch scoffed. "Unfortunately."

Just as that was said, Luna's eyes brightened. The boy on the bed let out a soft noise, beginning to stir. "He's waking up," she said cheerfully.

Jack's eyes slowly opened and he looked up in surprise at Luna. He slowly sat up, rubbing his sore head. The fever was still intent on keeping him down. "Hey," he grinned a bit, looking at all the visitors he had, and feeling pretty great he had so many people here. "What are you all doing here?"

"We came to see you, of course." Neville rolled his eyes, patting his friend's shoulder affectionately. "We heard you were sick. Besides, we were hoping you'd be well enough to go to Hogsmeade."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"It's the village close to Hogwarts. There's lots of shops there and you can buy all sorts of stuff. It's a real treat to go there, and there are trips as often as every month." Neville explained.

"Sounds like fun!" he said excitedly. Now there was no way he was going to let this sickness keep him down. "When is it?"

"Tomorrow," said Neville.

"Awesome," Jack said with a firm nod. Before he could talk again, though, there was a loud clatter. They all looked to the source of the noise and saw another student, a Hufflepuff who looked to be Luna or Neville's age at most, with light red hair, her bangs clipped back to her head. The sketchbook hugged to her chest quickly shielded her face in embarrassment.

"Oh goodness," Madam Pomfrey huffed, rushing over to the fallen table. "Watch where you're going, dear, you could get into an accident!"

"S-sorry," she stuttered out, and Jack couldn't help that she sounded familiar. "I just - came here for a visit-"

Fully recognizing the voice, Jack grinned and practically leaped out of the bed, startling the occupants in the room. "Pippa?" he asked in disbelief, his feverish haze abandoned for the moment.

The girl raised her head a bit, and a grin broke out onto her face. "Jack! I-I knew that it was you, I just knew it! And I wanted to visit you but I could never find you and-"

Jack laughed and ran over, enveloping the girl in a tight hug. "It's fine, it's fine! I just-" he laughed in disbelief and Pitch grimaced, simply because that child was Jamie's friend, and one present on the night of his defeat, which the girl had helped to bring about. "What are you doing here?"

"W-well, you remember when Jamie told you I was moving to a different school?" she said, bouncing a little in excitement.

"Yeah!" he repeated. He remembered Jamie being confused, but relieved that Pippa would be there for Easter, Christmas, and the summer; even if it meant less snowball fights.

"And it turns out I'm a witch and I've been going here and the first day during the sorting I knew it was you but I couldn't find you, ever, and the Slytherins were really intimidating and not very helpful either but I heard from a friend you got sick, so-" Pippa's words came out in an excited rush and soon she was laughing happily, unable to form coherent sentences; and Jack looked just about ready to burst through the ceiling.

"You sicken me," Pitch informed them both. Pippa squeaked in surprise and looked ready to duck for cover, but Pitch rolled his eyes. "Relax. I'm not in the mood to ruin the lives of children. Not today, at least."

Pippa laughed nervously, and the other students didn't know if he was joking or not. Hermione finally broke the silence. "Er, Jack, who's this?" she asked, looking towards Pippa.

Jack smiled broadly and said, "This is my friend, Pippa!"

Hermione wondered just two people that seemed so different knew each other, but she didn't really question it. Jack got along with everyone. Before anyone else could comment, though, Madam Pomfrey came rushing over. "Get back into bed, you! You have a fever!"

Jack rolled his eyes and groaned, but complied with the request, slinking back into his bed tiredly. Pippa joined the other students at his bedside, happily hugging her sketchbook. "Really, though, I haven't seen you since Spring! It's great to see you again."

"Bet Jamie's gonna be jealous, finding out we go to the same school," he laughed, poking her in the ribs playfully.

The four of them talked together for a while, before Jack, thoroughly exhausted from the day's 'work', collapsed in the bed again and fell asleep. They all left the Hospital Wing, their new friend Pippa with them.

Pitch looked out the window, and noticed it was getting dark now. He couldn't fathom how fast the time flew when he was just sitting by Jack's bedside watching him sleep - in a totally non-creepy way, of course. He closed his heavy book and sighed, staring at the stacks of books and homework around them. He knew for a fact Jack hadn't slept for many nights, trying to avoid the stress of the vision that came with sleep.

Withdrawing a small box from his robes, he did something he would have ever expected himself to do. He didn't know why he was even given this, but they must have foreseen this happening. Taking a pinch of the golden sand from the box, he sprinkled it over Jack's face. It disappeared before a golden image formed above his head of a little girl and Jack himself.

Pitch had a sort of strange satisfaction on the content look on the boy's sleeping face. No wonder the Guardians liked dealing with children. When they were like this, at least. Pitch couldn't not deny the joy of giving children fear, but there was another strange satisfaction when he made them have good dreams.

He scoffed to himself. He was getting too sentimental.

"Sweet dreams, Jack," he muttered, brushing his fingers across the boy's silver bangs. "Enjoy it while you can, because I certainly won't be giving you anymore."


	8. Fine Literature

**A/N: **_I got a snow day yesterday so I was able to finish all the chapters I was working on! Thanks, Jack! xD Poll will be closed tonight, so hurry up and vote if you haven't already! And thanks so much for all the votes, guys! And to all my reviewers I'm sorry I haven't replied, but I hope you guys know you just make me so happy by reviewing, even if I haven't answered yours personally._

_The idea in this chapter for Pitch having a cat goes out to BVBlover4ever! I really liked your idea, so I just had to include it. :D_

* * *

Jack rubbed his eyes, grunting as he woke up, stretching his arms out in front of him and cracking his neck. Damn, he had a good sleep. And a nice dream. Maybe Sandy visited him? He shrugged. The headache he had yesterday was gone and he felt his forehead. It wasn't warm at all, and he felt quite comfortably cool. He sat up, smiling to himself. It was very nice and cool in here; but maybe that was because it was snowing.

Another few moments were spent trying to figure out what his brain had just thought and he looked down in his lap. The blanket was covered in a layer of nice, fluffy snow. Perfect for snowball making. He looked above him. Sure enough, just above his bed, there was a sort of invisible cloud that the snow was drifting down from onto him. He laughed, relishing in the cold, the joy of the weather. In the back of his mind he chided himself for his lack of self-control. But he didn't really give a damn about self-control.

Madam Pomfrey burst into the room a few minutes later, gasping when she saw that snow was covering almost everything in the room now. Jack was sitting on the bed, clutching his staff and laughing. She shook her head and sighed. "Good lord, these children nowadays can do some strange things..." she muttered to her self. After checking Jack for any signs of his previous ailments, he was released when none could be found.

And so, Jack was out of the hospital wing and ready to go to Hogsmeade. He had thought about it happily all while talking to his friends the previous day and the thought of it helped him reach slumber last night. His fever had gone away during the night, he had had a very good sleep, and he personally didn't think he had ever felt better than he did now. Pitch had mentioned he would need to see Jack before he left, however, so that's where he was headed.

The winter spirit visited the Slytherin common room to deposit his belongings that had been with him in the hospital, saying a quick greeting to Draco before he was off again. Draco had detention apparently, so he wouldn't be coming. _Maybe some other time,_ Jack thought to himself with a shrug.

He had managed not to let his feelings spiral out of control and make it snow anywhere else in the castle, but the same could not be done for outside. There was a raging snowstorm, but students were still bundling up for the cold weather as the prospect of the monthly trip excited them. He bid a greeting to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, whom he had passed in the hall.

He arrived at the classroom where he had his lessons with Pitch, knocking on the door before entering. Pitch was closing a book, and another student was nodding in understanding. "Don't lose sleep over it, the test will be easier than you think. Professor Snape tends to exaggerate a bit."

The little girl nodded, her pigtails bouncing. "Thank you, Professor Black!" she chirped, waving as she left the room.

Jack chuckled a bit when he entered. "That was cute."

Pitch scoffed. "You're not the only student in the school, Jack. And I'm 'assistant teacher'. So, I assist." He sauntered over to his desk, sitting down with a heavy sigh. Jack followed him, looking down when something nudged his foot. He yelped in surprise and scooted away, staff pointed at the creature. Pitch looked up from his stack of papers and laughed, crossing his arms. "Jack, I don't believe I've introduced you. This is Adrian."

He gestured to the black creature on the floor, which looked as though it was made entirely of Nightmare sand. Its ears twitched and upon closer inspection, Jack knew it was a cat. With glowing yellow eyes made of Nightmare sand. It yawned, displaying sharp white fangs. "O-oh... How, uh, nice," he managed to choke out, laughing nervously.

Smirking a bit, the Nightmare King unfolded his arms. "So, what brings you here today?"

Bouncing up and down on the balls of his heels, he told to Pitch what his friends had talked to him about in the Hospital Wing earlier. Pitch sat there listening with a blank, straight face as he listened. When Jack finished, he spoke up. "You know you need a parent or guardian-" he frowned when Jack snickered a bit, "-to sign a form before you go on the trip."

"Well no, I didn't know that," he muttered, eyes drifting to his feet. They returned back to Pitch, wide and pleading, a big smile on his face. "Can you sign it?"

Pitch snorted, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not your guardian, thank goodness for that, so no."

"You could at least pretend to be my guardians if you wanted! I didn't want to be a Guardian at first either."

"Those are two completely different things!"

"Whatever... come on, please?"

"And if I don't?"

"I'll totally start crying and tell on you," Jack threatened, nodding his head.

"Whiny little brat," Pitch retorted.

"I'm not whining! I'm just asking!"

Pitch rolled his eyes, sighing heavily again. Grabbing a piece of parchment from his scattered desk, he scribbled something on it with his quill, before ripping it off and handing it to Jack. "That should be good enough for Professor McGonagall."

Jack's grin widened and he was about to run off out the door before Pitch stopped him. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, boy. Make any trouble and, well..." He simply smirked and Jack groaned, nodding his head reluctantly. "Adrian will be watching you too, and not just in Hogsmeade." Of course Pitch wouldn't let up on those rules. He would just have to find some way to sneak off.

When it was finally time to go, he stayed close with Neville and Luna, trying to ignore that Pitch was looming behind him not so far away. He had some of the spending money North had given him and was excited. In fact, he was so excited, he had accidentally caused a blizzard to start raging last night in his sleep. He woke up in the morning with his bed covered in snow. He still didn't have all the control he wanted over his powers, but he was glad it was snowing, even though most of the other students grumbled, pulling scarves up to protect their faces from the biting wind. Jack welcomed it fully though dressed for it reluctantly. He wanted to be in just his hoodie and pants, barefoot, but that would be a little too weird.

"Early for snow, isn't it?" Luna commented, shielding her eyes from the snow and squinting to see in the distance as they walked. "Maybe we can have a snowball fight if there's enough."

Jack smiled at the comment. "That'd be lots of fun."

"Just don't be ganging up on me," Neville said, and they all laughed.

Luna and Neville led Jack into many different shops and had he enough money, he would have bought all of them to just spend hours looking at everything in them. He couldn't name anything in the shops, but it was also fun to buy something without knowing exactly what it was. After an hour or so they had sweets from Honeydukes, stuff from Zonko's, and a warm glass of butterbeer before heading outside again. The happier Jack got, the more the blizzard raged on. Some students were even leaving early due to the weather.

He smirked and bent down as Neville and Luna were talking. Pitch passed them but took no notice. If he had, he hadn't shown that he gave one bother about them. "Finally," he muttered to himself, scooping up a bit of snow in his hand. He began to form and when it was perfected, he blew on it gently, a soft blue glow surrounding it for a few seconds.

"Hey, Neville!" he yelled. The boy turned to face Jack only to be met in the face with a snowball. He sputtered and brushed the snow from his face, while Luna stifled giggles. After a few moments, Neville began to laugh too, and was trying, unsuccessfully, to hide a grin behind his scarf.

"You want a fight, huh?" Neville bent down to get some snow and Jack laughed, smirking at the two of them.

"Count me in!" a voice called.

Jack saw Pippa running towards them and grinned. "I'm not going easy on you, Pips."

"You never go easy," she replied with a laugh, moving to Luna's side. "Boys versus girls!"

Starting to walk towards a more secluded place of the village, Jack laughed and hefted his staff over his shoulder. The wind picked up again, rustling his hair almost violently. "You're on!"

* * *

The snowball fight ended in about an hour, with Pippa yelling victoriously and Jack arguing about who really won. Jack felt amazing! to feel the Wind again, to breathe fresh, winter air, made him feel so happy and alive. And what's more, he wasn't sick, so he could enjoy this all to its fullest. "That was fun," Neville said as he accepted Luna's hand to help him up to his feet again.

"Snowball fights with Jack are always fun," Pippa giggled, straightening the hat on her head.

"Can't believe that thing still fits you." Jack said, flicking at the hat. He remembered Pippa wearing it the night (and early morning) he became a Guardian, when she first saw him. And she still wasn't too tall for her age, but that made Jack glad. He didn't want to think about how much Jamie and his friends had all grown up in the few years they had been friends. "Your head must be super tiny like your brain."

"You wanna fight me again?" Pippa challenged, laughing and raising her fists.

"What, you mean you wanna lose again?" Jack laughed and started chasing her around the clearing, tackling her to the snow and tickling her when she was down on the ground. Pippa shrieked and laughed, trying to push him away, when Neville and Luna started laughing too. After a few minutes, though, Pippa's laughter died away when they heard shrieks from the village.

Frowning, he slowly helped her to her feet. "What _is_ that?" he muttered, squinting through the thick haze of snow obscuring his vision. The wind began to clear it up a bit so Jack could see and walk better. After a few more minutes it was gone. Feeling no need to chase after whatever it was, he turned to Luna and Neville. "Ready for round two?"

Round two, in fact, didn't last very long. The weather got worse and worse, and all of them but Jack decided to leave. So he followed them, despite the wish to stay outside and play in the snow for hours longer. The four walked back to the village through the trail they had entered the forest and when they finally made it, there was a mass of students leaving. Pitch, trying to hurry them along, noticed the four of them and walked over, raising an eyebrow at Jack. "Really?" he muttered, low enough for only him to hear, mostly referring to the weather situation.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Oops?" Pitch rolled his eyes and started to walk ahead. Jack chuckled. Adrian (the demon cat, as Jack had now dubbed it) trailed a few feet behind him, bits of dark sand being shaken off his body when he got snow in his sandy coat.

When inside the castle, many hours later, he heard a lot of speculation from the other students. Apparently there had been some sort of attack. He sat at the Slytherin table, pleasantly cold as he enjoyed his dinner. Draco, beside him, looked weary and worn out. Whether it was from detention or something else, Jack didn't know. But Draco didn't seem to want to talk to anyone (much to Pansy's dismay) so Jack left him alone, and retired to bed early that night, sleeping soundly without a care in the world.

Several weeks passed in relative peace, and in mid November, when he awoke in the early morning, there was a stack of books beside his bed, with a small note on top of them. He read the note and smiled a little. The books Pitch had said he would give him were finally here. "Took him long enough," Jack muttered.

He rifled through them, reading some of the titles. Some that caught his interest were _The Count of Monte Cristo, Tom Sawyer, and Les Miserables._ He packed them all into his schoolbag. He recognized them all as older works, but there were some newer additions in the stack as well, such as _Angel Burn. _All his work was finished, and today was Sunday, so he had nothing to do. Well, that was not entirely true.

After a brief breakfast and a short chat with his Slytherin friends, he went off to the tower where he first met the little ghost girl.

To his immense relief and happiness, the little girl was sitting on the windowsill, waiting for him. Her legs swooshed back in forth, dangling in the air and she smiled. Jack walked over wordlessly, picked up a book, (one entitled "_Reading For Beginners"_ that looked as if it was for children_) _and began to read it aloud, showing it to the little ghost, who happily looked over his shoulder. They spent many hours like that, hunched over books together, trying to decipher just about everything they could.

And it was at the window Pitch found Jack slumped against the window, sleeping peacefully, an open book on his lap. The girl was still reading the book, turning the pages even though Jack was asleep. She looked up at the man, and gave a small smile. He simply nodded, waving his hand dismissively. She giggled and disappeared.

Pitch picked the book from Jack's lap and slammed it shut loudly in his face. He woke up with yell of surprise, jumping to his feet. Pitch chuckled and stood up, setting it on the stack of other books on the windowsill. Jack looked at Pitch and groaned, slumping against the wall. "Don't do that."

"I don't know, I rather enjoyed the look on your face." Smirking, he handed the stack of books to Jack, who glared at him and stuffed them into his schoolbag. "Now, come on. I need to talk to you in my office."

They walked down to the classroom where his lessons normally were, and Jack couldn't help but frown. Why would Pitch want to see him? They had been doing rather well in his lessons lately, and they had actually been rather civil toward one another. It had to be important, but just what was it?

"Now, I know you have been doing strangely well in your spells and catching up with the rest of the students in your grade," Pitch folded his arms against his chest, leaning back against his desk, "and you'll be leaving most of your classes with the fifth years, since the Headmaster will not be mixing classes for much longer, despite the daily departure of students.

"And while your studies progress, you will also begin more advanced lessons with myself." He looked at Jack to see if he was following. "Now, set down your staff." Jack frowned, instinctively tightening the grip on his staff. "Relax, I'm not going to do anything to harm it. Just set it down." After another long moment, Jack finally relented, setting it down on the ground.

"Good," Pitch said approvingly. Before Jack could even blink, a shadow slithered across the floor and seized the staff, bringing it over to Pitch.

"Hey!" the boy protested.

"Calm down," Pitch instructed. "Now, I'll be teaching you about using your powers - controlling them - without use of your, ah, stick." He chuckled, grabbing the staff from the tendril of dark sand. "Now, you are to get the staff from me without use of your wand, either. Just by your own hands. Once you can get a successful hit at me, then I'll give it back. I noticed at Hogsmeade you show a significant lack of control when it comes to your powers, so we'll start with the basics."

Jack was at a loss for words. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily, trying to concentrate. He had never had to do anything without his staff - it was a constant comfort to him, and it was strange to be without it. Still, Pitch wasn't likely to give it back otherwise. He closed his eyes and concentrated, clenching his hand and trying to will his power to work. Nothing happened.

Pitch looked disappointed. "Come on, is that all? After getting through all of your tedious studies and finally catching up with everyone else... all your fun reading with that little ghost girl..." He began to pace the room, Jack's staff still in hand, and his hands clasped together behind his heart. Jack grit his teeth and said nothing.

"It's pathetic, really." Pitch scoffed and shook his head. "You think you'd be better at this. After all, so many people can see you, now. That's how a Guardian's power grows."

"But they don't believe in me." Jack said, startling himself with what he said. His eyes widened and Pitch chuckled.

"Exactly. You were weak then, and you're weak now."

"Quit lying," Jack snapped, glaring at Pitch with anger. "I was strong enough to beat you." He didn't know why Pitch was suddenly talking like this, but he didn't like it. He would do this often, at a random time, just to get a rise out of Jack. It always worked, despite Jack's anger that it did.

"But you almost gave yourself up, didn't you? To save them..." He chuckled as Jack's eyes widened again. "You know why people can see me? Not just because of some... silly potion... but because they believe in me. They are fearful of everything that moves, what with Voldemort on the loose. It's given me such a boost of power... not just from children, either."

"What's your point?"

"My point, Jack, is that you don't belong here. You should just scurry on back to Burgess where little Jamie is, and spend some time with him before you get hurt, or worse. Who knows? You could be happy like that. Just staying with that one child that will always believe in you... then again, who knows how long that will last? Children grow up. They stop believing."

"Jamie won't," he growled not liking the turn that this conversation was taking. Pitch really knew how to push his buttons. "He'll always believe in me."

Pitch shook his head sadly. "You overestimate him, Jack. Soon, he'll grow up... fall in love, have kids of his own... will he pass on the tales of Jack Frost? Or will he forget? Just like everyone else? You may be able to scrape on by with a handful of believers, but it won't last. He will stop believing, Jack. Isn't it a damn shame that everyone else in this castle is the same way?"

A yell of anger cut Pitch off and before he knew it, a sharp blast of ice shot at him. He ducked just in time, the ice smoldering the wall behind him. Jack's hand was extending, a bit of steam rising from it despite the cold bolt he just delivered. "Dry ice," Pitch observed, tapping it with the staff in his hand. "Very nice."

He tossed the staff to Jack, who immediately pulled it close once it was in reach. His chest was heaving, and he had that same expression he did in Antarctica so long ago. Pitch chuckled, shaking his head. "People are more inclined to let loose when aggravated." He leaned back against the desk. "But honestly, doesn't it anger you? I know I would be angered if after so long, the key to being seen was right here all along, after all those years of being in the dark. I'm a little frustrated myself, to be honest."

"I try not to think about it," Jack replied with a tight-lipped smile. "It's not the kind of thing thought I like to dwell on." He turned to leave, still fuming with anger.

"Get better at this and you won't have to fuel your power with anger," Pitch called. "And have a good night."

Jack slammed the door harshly behind him, despite trying to keep his anger in check. But part of him couldn't help but keep thinking over what Pitch had told him. It was just like him to get in Jack's head, making him question everything, even if it was just a game to get him mad. He grumbled angrily under his breath, and upon making it to the Slytherin common room, settled down in one of the chairs with a harsh grunt in greeting to his friends.

"Hello there, Mr. Sunshine," drawled Blaise sarcastically. "Looks like someone's toast was buttered incorrectly this morning."

"I had pancakes this morning," muttered Jack, trying to hide a small smile as he picked up his book.

Pansy stopped writing her essay for a moment and looked up. "Where were you, anyway?"

"Professor Black wanted to talk," Jack said with a shrug, a look of annoyance on his face as he turned a page in his book.

"That accounts for your mood," Draco spoke up. He was slumped in one of the chairs by the fireplace, looking tired and disheveled.

"You look even worse than I do," Jack chucked, prodding Draco with his staff, coaxing the tiniest bit of a smile out of his friend. He straightened up in the chair and sighed, trying to read, but his mind and thoughts elsewhere. He was getting tired, too tired to keep his eyes open for much longer. But one thought, one troubling little thought, occupied his mind. If the potion wore off, would his friends still see him? Would they believe in him enough to still see him?

He frowned when something poked at his hand. Baby Tooth was beside his hand in his lap, just barely visible, having crawled out of the pocket of his robes. He breathed a smile of relief and smiled a little, closing his eyes. She always seemed to know what he was thinking and knew to give him a little tap on the hand to tell him that everything would be okay. In a few minutes, he lulled off to sleep, and Baby Tooth crawled back into his pocket.

"I'm not carrying him," Blaise said quickly.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course you can't be bothered to help."

"Wouldn't want to chip a nail."

"Of course, you dainty thing."

Pansy snickered quietly at the banter between the two of them, then returned to her essay since she was almost done. She wished there was some kind of window to look out of down here, so she could see the snowfall that had started during supper time a few hours ago.

Jack and his things were returned to his bed as time passed in Hogwarts. It was getting closer to Christmas, and people were more and more excited to go home and visit with their families, not to mention getting a break from school work.

And almost everyday, Jack would go and visit the little girl in the tower and read to her. He did not see her drift around often like the other ghosts, so it was always he that returned to her. It was when he was on his way to the tower, near the end of November, when Harry approached him before he could make it to the staircase.

"Hey, Jack, I need to talk with you," the boy said.

Jack straightened his schoolbag and nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

Harry wet his lips, clearing his throat a bit nervously. "I was wondering if you could keep an eye on Draco, maybe? Just... make sure he's not getting up to anything suspicious?"

Jack leaned against his staff, raising an eyebrow. "How come?"

"I just want to keep tabs on him, that's all..."

Harry obviously didn't want to indulge, but Jack himself was curious about where Draco had always been going off to. He didn't see him much anymore other than class and meal times. "Sure. I'll keep you posted."

Harry nodded, looking relieved. "Hey, thanks - I've got to get off to Quidditch practice. You want to come?"

Jack accepted the invitation. He had heard about Quidditch, but had never actually been to one of the matches. It involved flying though, so it should be kind of fun for him. Though he was confused as to why Harry invited him. It wasn't like Slytherins and Gryffindors got along well in the first place... not that Jack didn't have a plan to change that.

"I just need you to kind of oversee it, I suppose? I just want a neutral party to fill in so that there aren't any... arguments," Harry said tersely.

"Let me guess... Ron?" Jack chuckled a bit.

The other shrugged his shoulders wearily in reply, as if to say 'What can you do?'.

Jack greeted the irritated Ron and annoyed Ginny in the locker rooms, giving a quick hello to the rest of the team as well. They were a bit wary of having someone from Slytherin watch over the match, but when Harry quietly explained - except not to Ron, since he was a big part of the problem - they understood and were all right with Jack staying.

Jack stayed on the ground while the other Gryffindor Quidditch team members changed into their robes and took off into the air. Ron, who was Keeper, seemed to be having trouble with playing in general. Jack even eased the wind up a bit so that it might be easier, but in the end, one of the players left crying, with Ginny right behind her.

Ron trudged off equally as sad and Harry groaned in frustration. "Damn," Jack whistled, "you've got yourself a real challenge here."

Harry sighed wearily. "D'you have any ideas what to do?"

Jack crossed his arms, thinking hard. He had dealt with an annoyed Bunnymund more than once, and sometimes North; he had never seen Tooth or Sandy get mad. This got him thinking to Pitch, and their own exchanges. "Mh... Try to talk some sense into him. Be forceful if you have to. Ron's kind of... stubborn." He grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you can do to get his confidence up, try it. Or he'll have to get really lucky before the match."

Harry frowned and nodded, thinking over his friend's words. "Right..." he sighed as he left the field, intent on turning in for the night. "Thanks anyway, Jack."

"No problem," Jack replied with a nod, leaving the changing rooms and heading off for the tower. The little girl was still waiting there. He had given her a nickname now, even though he wasn't much closer to finding her real name. "Hey, G," he greeted. She giggled; and that was the reason for her nickname. G, just because she giggled so damn much. Jack could decipher little snippets of conversation through the laughs, but it did get a little tiresome once in a while.

"Now, where were we?" he muttered to himself, paging through _Les Miserables_. "Oh, right... All right, Jean Valjean has just arrived at the inn and he's found Cosette..." he cleared his throat and began to read. "'Must I sweep?' she resumed at last. 'Play!' said Jean Valjean."

Jack read until it was night and the ghost girl looked ready to fall asleep. Was that possible for ghosts? Or was he just that boring? He laughed a bit and said, "Hey, sleepy-head. I gotta go." He packed his things and began to walk away. "But I'll see you tomorrow."

He frowned, noticing the objects in her hand. She had one of his quills and a bit of paper. She began to clumsily write and Jack ventured over to see what it said. In crude, childish letters, she wrote, "Can yu be my Jon Valjon?"

Throat slightly dry, he offered her a smile and nodded. "If you want me to be, yeah." She giggled with joy and shoved the paper at him. He understood; she wanted him to sign it. He chuckled and began to sign it, saying aloud, "I, Jack Frost, promise to be G's Jean Valjean and to protect her and keep her safe." She looked at the paper and crossed out the letter 'G'. Above it, she wrote 'Emma'.

"Is that your name?" he asked. Emma giggled enthusiastically and nodded. "All right, Emma." He smiled and waved goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow... Emma." He went to bed with a dozen thoughts, and wondering just why that name was so familiar. He fell into a restless but happy sleep, still thinking of that little girl in the tower who faithfully waited for him every day.


	9. The Leave for Christmas

**A/N: **I accidentally made this super long. The next chapter will cover the rest of the Christmas stuff. Also, as you can see, I've changed the story's name! I've been brewing up story names, and "Crystal Snow Magic" was the one I chose for it was kind of temporary until I could find the right one. uvu The chapters are going to be getting longer as we develop into the plot further, and because I want it to be around the same time frame as time passing now, eventually. So, yes, there will be plot the next chapter!

Forgot to get this beta'd, and will post the beta'd version tomorrow, since today is my sister's birthday and I'll be busy.

Anyway, enough prattling. Hope y'all enjoy~

* * *

Christmas was clear all throughout Hogwarts. Twelve huge evergreens decorated the hall; garlands and wreaths were hung festively, and mistletoe dangled above, tempting to all those looking for love. It snowed everyday, a great flurry of it. Jack was easily one of the happiest people in the castle at this time. That being said, Pitch looked to be one of the unhappiest. But he hated Christmas in silence, if only for the benefit of those who enjoyed it and detested complaints.

It was about a day before winter break and all the children would go back to their families or be given the option to stay at Hogwarts. The usual owl delivery came and there was a small sack deposited onto Jack's breakfast food. He frowned and read the tag, then he rolled his eyes and set it down on the floor between his legs.

"What's that?" Pansy asked, eyeing the bag as Jack began to dish up a bit more food for himself, stacking it on top of his already crushed food.

"Stuff from my great-uncle. He wants me to give you guys presents." He bit down a forkful of scrambled eggs. Most of the food on his plate was otherwise untouched; he didn't eat much before he came here but it would look suspicious if he didn't eat anything at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Pansy smirked a little. "Are you going to give them to us now?"

He poked her with his fork, laughing. "You'll have to wait a bit, I'm afraid."

"Waiting is for people who are patient, and who actually have time to wait," she huffed.

"Then why don't you just learn how to be patient?" Blaise spoke up, an amused bit of a smile on his face.

Draco was the only one not speaking. His head was down on the table, tiredly buried in his arms. Jack poked him. "Hey, you awake?"

Draco grunted in response. "Trying not to be." Draco had been in a testy mood lately, so Jack didn't usually pry further in conversations with him other than a simple greeting. That was especially hard since he told Harry he would be keeping an eye on him. So he was trying to cheer Draco up, maybe convince him into telling Jack about whatever he was doing. Draco was as moody as ever. But it was almost Christmas, now, and he would be damned if his friends weren't jolly.

"Come on, it's the holidays! Aren't you excited for Santa Claus?"

"You mean Father Christmas," he replied dryly. "and no, I most certainly am not."

Jack stuck his nose in the air. "Well with an attitude like that, he's not too excited for you either."

Draco unwillingly cracked a smile and sat up, shoving at Jack with his arm and started to dish up some food. "I don't believe in stuff like that anyway."

"Not even when you were little?" Jack asked, trying not to sound too eager or hopeful. It would have been cool if any of them believed in the Guardians when they were young, because it meant a chance that they believed in him too. He shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind.

"I don't know!" Draco growled in frustration, shrugging. "Let's just say I did and move on."

Jack laughed grabbing his sack and standing up. "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I'll give you guys this stuff tomorrow before I leave. But it's going to stay a surprise."

"Fancy telling us what we've got, then?" Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's called a surprise for a reason, genius," he laughed again as he went off to the common room to put the sack under his bed, and silently telling himself to thank North. He hadn't really a clue what he was going to get his friends for Christmas, but he supposed they would accept these gifts. After all, North knew what was best for children. Since it was a weekend day, he didn't have his usually scheduled lessons. But he kept practicing anyway (not that he told Pitch).

He closed his eyes and concentrated; ice began to form in the palm of his hand by the act of his will. He took deep breaths. When he next opened his eyes, a bright, blue ball of light was there, cold air swirling around it. He yelled with joy, but his happiness quickly caused the orb to expand and burst. Snow covered the room in a thin layer and he cursed. He still had trouble with that sometimes. Oh well. Hopefully no one would notice. It would melt in time, anyway.

Jack hurriedly grabbed one of the books from the pile Pitch had given him, the one he had read most recently to Emma, hid it in his hoodie pocket with surprising ease, and started off towards the tower again, where he was sure Emma would be waiting. He was unaware of the two girls behind him, watching him intently hidden behind a corner.

"He always goes this way in his free time," Pansy said, "and he brings some books with him. Not sure why."

"At least he has some taste," Hermione observed with a pleased smirk.

Pansy rolled her eyes, watched Jack go up the staircase, and tugged on the sleeve of Hermione's robe. "When you've stopped fantasizing about words on dusty old paper, let's hurry and follow him." She looked over her shoulder, relieved to see the hall empty. "Besides, it looks weird if we're just standing here." Indeed, Hermione silently agreed, it would raise some suspicion as to why a Slytherin and Gryffindor - especially ones as Hermione and Pansy - were hanging around together.

"Let's go, then." she said and quietly started after Jack with Pansy in tow not too far behind.

Not daring to show themselves from the stairwell, they waited until Jack started talking. He was perched on a windowsill, barefoot and in his hoodie and pants he wore when he could, staff under his arm, talking to translucent girl sitting beside him. "So, I know you really liked Les Miserables, but I lost the copy..."

As he trailed off, Emma shook her head, eyes wide, not wanting to believe the statement. Jack laughed and pulled it out from his hoodie pocket. "Ha, just kidding!"

She made a face of anger and stamped her foot as best she could. If there was any color to her body, her cheeks would be bright red. "Aw, don't pout!" He laughed and extended a hand to ruffled her hair; and to their immense surprise, it did not pass through the girl. Jack returned to his former place on the window sill and sat with his legs stretched out. The little girl climbed on top and sat on his lap, leaning back against him as he turned to the page where they left. "Alright, now we meet a man named Enjolras... he's sorta in charge of a revolution." Jack cleared his throat and spoke, as if a narrator, "Enjolras was a charming young man, who was capable of being terrible..."

Emma poked at Jack's cheek and pointed to the name in the book, comparing the two. "That's sweet of you to say," he said sarcastically, laughing when she started pulling on his cheeks. "Hey, stop it. You want me to read to you or not?" Emma stopped and settled back down, eyes skimming over the page with Jack's.

And so Jack read to Emma; it was a slow process as always, since he broke down the language so they could both understand it better, since the writing style was far behind his current time. He briefly wondered why Pitch always lent him such difficult books, but he supposed that it was better to start out with bigger books, things at a higher level, so reading would become easier for him later on.

After a few minutes of listening to Jack narrate the tale of French revolution, Hermione started to descend back down the staircase, thinking hard. "Where're you going?" Pansy hissed.

"The library," she said quickly. "I need to look something up."

Pansy looked a little disappointed that they had stopped spying for the time being but followed Hermione out of the tower and to the library, trying to be discreet about it. Again, Gryffindors and Slytherins did not generally mix or even hang out together. Hermione made it t the library and was searching for anything that could help her - people couldn't touch ghosts. Not if they were alive, anyway. If they were dead that was a different matter. But Jack looked very much alive. It boggled the witch's mind and stoked her curiosity.

She stumbled upon a wire-bound notebook on one of the shelves and opened it up. Inside there were several drawings... wait a second. She recognized two of the figures on the pages she was flipping through: Professor Black and Jack. Pansy, looking over her shoulder, was also intrigued. There were any other similar drawings. Strange, feathered fairies and giant rabbits; men made of sand, and a giant, gruff warrior with dual swords.

It didn't make any sense. Jack occupied most of the drawings, in many scenes. Some, he was laughing and sailing through the wind. Others, he was standing alone on a cold moonlit night, a creepy shadow figure beside him. Then he was with those other strange folk. Why would a book like this be in the library in the first place?

"Hermione?" A voice called quietly.

Pansy quickly scooted away from Hermione, pretending to look interested in another book, while the latter almost dropped the book in surprise. "Luna?" she whispered back, trying not to let her voice escalate in volume. This was a library, after all.

Luna smiled, practically skipping over. "I thought I would say hello." She looked down at the sketchbook in her friend's hands. "That's mine," she observed. "What are you doing with it?"

"I-I found it on this shelf," Hermione managed to stammer out, quickly closing it. "I'm sorry, it must be private-"

"It's okay," Luna assured her, taking the sketchbook back and pulling it to her side rather protectively. "I think some of those mean boys in my years hid it on purpose."

That explains how it ended up here, Hermione thought sadly. "You know, for people who go to a school for wizards, you think they would be more accepting of strange things."

Luna cracked a smile. "That is rather funny." She looked behind Hermione over and Pansy and gave her a little wave in greeting. "Afternoon, Pansy."

"Oh, uh, afternoon, Luna," said Pansy, a little awkwardly. "How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you. I ran into Harry earlier, and he says he's going to take my to Slughorn's party tonight." Luna had the happiest smile on her face, it made Hermione smiled too.

"Really? Oh, that's so sweet of him," Hermione made a mental note to thank Harry later; she wasn't sure if she had ever seen Luna happier than she was right now. "What time does the party start?"

"Eight thirty," Luna said. "I'll be going there after I finish my homework."

Hermione nodded. "Right. I'd better get going, though, I still have some homework to finish up before then." She adjusted her bag and jerked her head towards Pansy to follow. "I'll see you then!"

Luna smiled cheerily and waved at them before skipping off, intent on going to the dormitories in Ravenclaw tower.

* * *

Luna pulled a dress from the trunk of clothes under her bed. It was a nice dress, really. It was a shining purple, with frills and lacy edges. It was a special gift from her dad. It was a little showy, maybe, but she didn't mind. And she was going to a party, after all. However, before she went, she decided she may go and have a chat with the ghosts; specifically Helena Ravenclaw. She hadn't seen her in a while.

She laid it out on the bed. It was a little after five now, so she decided to do her homework. The hours passed quickly and before she knew it, it was a quarter to eight. Time flew by past when you were studying for O. .

Luna received many jealous and scathing glances from the other girls during the day who had hoped that they could go with Harry, but her happiness helped her to overlook it all. She was going to a party, a real party! With a friend. She had never done that before. She smiled to herself as she climbed up the stairs of the familiar tower.

When the blonde reached the top, however, she was quick to realize that she wasn't alone. Jack was sitting on the windowsill of the tower, overlooking the grounds. Night had fallen earlier, and the full moon was in the sky, flanked by bright stars. A girl was beside him, another ghost, whom Luna did not recognize.

She coughed a little to get his attention as she approached, and he nearly fell off the windowsill. "Wha - Luna!"

"Did I scare you?" she asked, not suppressing a smile. The ghost girl covered her mouth and giggled. She sat down beside him, the little girl reluctantly scooting aside to make room for her. "I came to say hello to some of the ghosts... though it looks like you're ahead of schedule on that already."

Jack crossed his legs and grinned. "Nice dress. going to the party tonight?"

Luna nodded happily. "Yep! Harry and I are going as friends, but I'm glad he asked me. I've never been asked to a party with a friend! Or anywhere else, really..." She adopted a pensive look before smiling again. "Except when we went for ice cream. That was fun."

Jack chuckled, letting his staff rest across his lap. "We should do that again, during the summer. It would be a lot of fun."

Luna smiled. "It would."

There was a moment of silence between the two before Jack stood up, eyes looking up and down Luna's dress. he tilted her head curiously. "Jack?"

"Stand up for a second," he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I have an idea."

Luna was a little confused but brushed it off and nodded, moving off the windowsill and standing straight. Jack extended his staff to the ruffled and lacy edges of her dress. Frost began to form there and Luna gasped a little in surprise. "Don't move," he instructed. She nodded again and kept her still pose. Emma watched the two of them with interest.

Jack moved his staff along the edges of Luna's dress, over the ruffles and the hem and the sleeves. Fern-patterned frost spread over it, glinting in the moonlight. Jack stepped back and Luna gaped a bit, looking down at her dress in surprise. "You can move now." Jack said with a laugh. The grin he had just about split his face.

Luna slowly twirled around in her dress, staring down at the frost with amazement. She spun faster and faster, laughing as she watched it become a blur of colors. Jack laughed again and moved forward to grab her arms, steadying her so she wouldn't fall. "You okay?" he asked, holding in another laugh. Luna just looked so happy.

"I'm more than okay," she beamed. "It's beautiful Jack, thank you so much." She pulled her friend into a hug and Jack was a bit startled at the contact; he didn't normally receive hugs from anyone. He remembered the first time he received one from Jamie, when he was barely past Jack's waist in height. He smiled and hugged Luna back.

She pulled away after a few moments, grinning again. "Thanks," she said.

Jack shrugged nonchalantly, leaning on his staff. "No problem,"

"I also meant for letting me hug you," she added. "Not everyone lets me do that."

He shrugged again. "I'm good with hugs."

Luna giggled. "Luna?" a voice called. She turned and smiled at the sight of her friend, the ghost, Helena Ravenclaw. "I thought I heard voices..." The gray lady slowly stepped out from behind a wall. She eyed Jack warily. "Who is he?"

"This is my friend, Jack Frost." Luna beamed.

"Jack Frost?" Helena repeated slowly, eyes narrowing.

He waved nervously, Emma flitting over to his side. "Hi," he said, "you're... Helena?"

"Yes," The woman nodded solemnly. Her cold eyes softened when she turned her gaze to Luna. "It's a quarter after eight, my dear. You should be going along to meet your boy, now, yes?"

Luna grinned and nodded. "Alright... I'll talk with you after the holidays, then?"

Helena nodded kindly. "Of course. Now, off you go."

Luna nodded again and, grinning, turned to Jack, repeating her thanks before she hurried off to meet with Harry. Once she was gone, the woman turned to Jack again. "You have made trips here quite often, Mr. Frost. You've read to Emma, I see."

Emma waved at Helena and grinned up at Jack. She grabbed his arm and held it tight. Jack squeezed the girl's hand back and Helena was mildly surprised. "You, too, are a spirit?"

"Of sorts," he shrugged, grimacing a bit. "No one's really supposed to know. You won't... tell anyone... will you?"

"I don't normally interact with others beside Luna, so yes, you may assume your secret is safe with me." She cast the duo another wary look before turning away. "Farewell, Jack Frost. If you ever need someone to talk to, you may find someone when you're not looking."

"Wait-!" Jack called as she began to disappear. He sighed. "What does that even mean...?" He shook his head and turned to Emma. "I need to go now," he said. "I'm leaving for break tomorrow and I need to pack." Emma worriedly tugged at his sleeve, shaking her head. "I'll be back, I promise." he assured her, grinning. "We'll read some more, too."

It was several long minutes before Emma finally let him go again, still reluctant. She opened her mouth, letting out a raspy sound, trying to form words. She hacked loudly, trying to get the impossible words out. "Miss you" was all she managed to say, but it was enough for Jack. He bent down to her level, hugging her tight.

"You spoke..." he laughed happily, "You did it, Emma. You did it..."

The girl hugged back, another strangled sound releasing itself from the back of her throat. Jack pulled away again and ruffled her hair. "I'll see you soon."

Jack left for his dormitories, feeling happily worn out. Baby Tooth met him on his way down the staircase, squeaking happily and handing him a letter. Jack grinned and unfolded it quickly, knowing it was from Tooth.

_Sweet Tooth,_

_Bunny and I will be at the station tomorrow to pick you up since North will be on his usual run for the night. You can spread some snow, but we'll be with you until you're out of England. North's orders says you can't deliver snow there, at least, not flying around as much as you want to. I know it's probably hard, but it's for the best for now. I'll explain later, I promise._

_Merry-almost-Christmas!_

_xoxo_

_-Tooth _

Jack read the letter over a few more times, brow furrowed in confusion. No snow? On Christmas? Well, he couldn't whip up the blizzard he had in mind, but he supposed a light snowfall would have to do... He sighed and shoved it into his pocket as he headed down to the dungeons for the common room.

Most of the other boys in the dormitory were also packing up, or sitting on their beds trying to finish the last bit of homework so they had nothing to do over the break. Jack began to feel excitement really creep in. He loved it here in Hogwarts with his friends, he really did. But he was leaving and he would be able to fly and cause mischief and make it snow and see the Guardians and Jamie-

"It's freezing in here," one of the other boys muttered disdainfully, rubbing his hands together.

Jack quickly reminded himself to calm down and tried not to practically float over to his bed. He put the letter with the rest of them in his trunk (most of them were from Tooth, and a few from Jamie) while packing up his clothes. He didn't have much to pack in the end, really. He put away his robes, too, since he didn't have a reason to wear them tomorrow. And then he had a very restful sleep.

* * *

It seemed as if his head had just hit the pillow when he was awoken again. He was woken up by Draco, who looked a little annoyed and even more tired than usual. Jack held his suitcase in one hand and his bag of gifts in the other. He met with Pansy and Draco and Blaise in the common room. Since he would be sitting with his other friends on the train he knew the others would be too keen by sitting with them - they seemed to understand, and for that, he was grateful.

"Well, I guess this is it," Jack finally said.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Don't act like we're saying goodbye forever, it's just break."

Jack shrugged, laughing. "I guess. I won't miss you guys one bit."

Blaise smirked, crossing his arms. "Care to place a wager?"

"I'm not a betting man, but I'd certainly make a wager on this if I felt the need to prove myself," he puffed out his chest dramatically and the three of them laughed, Draco cracking a little smile. "Alright, I have your gifts for you guys…" He pulled out the three presents for his friends, handing them each one.

"Sorry, we weren't able to get you anything." Pansy said, "At least, I wasn't."

Blaise nodded in agreement and Jack shook his head. "It's fine, it's fine! I'll just say you owe me one."

Pansy opened hers first; it was a small unicorn figure made of ice. "Oh, Jack! It's lovely…" she laughed, her lips twitching into a little smile, "but won't it melt?"

He shook his head and grinned. "Nope! My uncle's a master with ice, so I don't think it should melt anytime soon."

Pansy grinned back, putting it the unicorn away in the box and stowing it in her pocket with another word of thanks.

Blaise opened his present next. Inside were two small hand-mirrors with a fancy golden handle. He flashed them a few times, before coming to a conclusion, "Two-way mirrors. Useful." He put them back in the box and the box went away in his robe.

Jack moved over to Draco and grinned as he handed them the box, making Draco feel wary. Draco opened it up, keeping an eye on Jack, and scoffed when it was open. "Proposing, are you? Pretty as it is, I'm not sure if I'm willing to accept." he asked, rolling his eyes. It was a silver ring, with a shining ice crystal on it.

Jack laughed and shook his head. "Hey, ask my uncle. He made it, after all." Actually, that was not true. He had found the ring in the box and a note from North. He had then spent part of last night shaping the ice crystal. He had no idea what it was for, but he knew it was important. "Just keep it, I'm sure it'll come in handy one day."

Draco scoffed again but put the ring and the box away in his pocket for safe-keeping. "I'd better get going," he said, "I was going to meet the others…" He turned back to his Slytherin friends and grinned. He was smiling so much this morning, he was sure his cheeks were going to hurt afterwards. "Merry Christmas, guys." He gave Pansy a hug, who happily returned it; Blaise, a pat on the back; and Draco, another hug, only much stiffer, with Draco trying to shove the laughing boy off him.

He was running out of the dungeons, up the stairs, when he heard a shout of his name. He turned around to see Draco running after him, looking worn-out from running. "Here," he said reluctantly, fishing something out of his pocket and shoving it at Jack.

Jack laughed and tossed the present in the air, catching it in his open palm. "This is a surprise." He admitted, before giving him a serious nod. "Thanks,"

Draco nodded and started going back down the stairs. "Yeah… you're… you're welcome."

"Merry Christmas, Draco!"

"Happy Christmas, Jack," came the gruff reply. Jack laughed again and went back up the stairs. The Great Hall was a bustle of activity, students saying their goodbyes for the holidays. Jack still couldn't really believe that he was going back.

He heard an annoyed voice from behind him say, "Look at the lot of them… so cheerful, it makes me sick."

"Hey, Pitch." Jack drawled, rolling his eyes as he turned around. "Come on, it's almost Christmas! Can't you be happy for once?"

"No."

He thrust a small bottle at Jack, who stared it in confusion. "The potion. Take a few drops before you come back over the break. It will be wearing off soon."

Jack made a grimace but nodded, stowing it in his bag. A meow from behind him alerted him to the demon cat's presence. He scoffed at Adrian, who trotted up to him and walked around Jack's legs, rubbing his head against his shin before returning to Pitch's side. "Scoot, furball." Pitch held in a snicker and Jack continued, "Hey, Pitch?"

The Nightmare King raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Jack shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I, uh… I wanted to say th… thanks," he mumbled out, "because you've done a lot to help me here. Which is weird, but, yeah…" He nodded again and cleared his throat.

Pitch rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I'm not doing it for you," he said with a bit of a sneer, before his expression softened, "but you're welcome nonetheless."

There were a few more moments of awkward silence and Pitch sighed heavily. "Get on the train before it leaves without you. Your friends are waiting," He pointed over to the door leading outside the castle, where Luna and Neville were standing expectantly. "Have a pleasant Christmas."

"You too," Jack nodded, a little grin lighting his face before he ran to catch up with his friends. Pitch shook his head, muttering to himself as he went back to his own little classroom. When he arrived, there was a small package on his desk; a blue box tied with a white ribbon.

Curious, Pitch picked it up. There was no tag but of course, he didn't need to guess who it was from. He tugged at the string and the wrapping came off to show two small figures on a little stand, made completely out of ice. A girl and an older man, presumably her father. "Idiot boy," he sighed to himself, shaking his had as he set it back down on the desk. But it was hard to fight the little smile trying to push its way through onto Pitch's face.

It was proving very hard for Jack not to accidentally freeze anything, so he kept on his shoes just so frost wouldn't bloom from his feet when he walked. Because that would be terribly noticeable. The whole ride back, he was talking with Luna, Pippa, and Neville, excited, Harry and Ron chipping in a word every so often. Hermione was apparently elsewhere - he presumed she didn't want to sit with Ron - so he would give her the gift from North when break was over. Better late than never, after all.

But it was so strange that his full excitement didn't mount until they were back at the train station again. He gave his friends their presents, received hugs goodbye, and then he was in the train station. He stumbled off the train a little uncertainly eyes searching the crowd, looking for a familiar face. Tooth said she was going to meet him. His heart thumped in his chest like a rapid-fire drum.

He heard a voice call out to him and, at first, didn't recognize them because they looked human, but they couldn't just show up at the station as a bunny and fairy, could they? Tooth still had her bright amethyst eyes, matching the highlights in her brown hair. Bunny looked a little annoyed, scratching his gray hair, revealing the tattoos on his arms. He didn't like shape-shifting much.

Jack took one last look at his friends and waved before running off towards the two of them, dropping his bags to hug Tooth tight, and eventually, Bunnymund too. They were both a little surprised, but hugged back, and Jack was trying to soothe the intense, raw happiness he was feeling. It was almost too much.

Finally, Bunnymund broke them apart, laughing as he picked up Jack's suitcase. "C'mon Frostbite, let's get you home."

* * *

It was Christmas Eve. Jack was perched on top of the Eiffel Tower, eyes closed. One hand held his staff and the other was holding onto the tower. He just let the wind flow through him, tell it how much it missed him and how it was so happy that they could play now. Its cool caresses stirred him up and he felt ready for a blizzard or two.

Jack flew across the world, everything merrily lit by the happiness of Christmas. He stayed away from Burgess, deciding he would wait a few days before going back over there. As much as he wanted to see Jamie and tell him everything, he would wait. He would be patient and take a little time to rest.

But one of the best things was now, he could do whatever he wanted. It was difficult to be seen, sometimes, and he preferred it much more over being invisible, but now he could yell and scream and fly and do anything. The rush of the wind egged him on.

Eventually, he began to head back to the North Pole, knowing that North would be back soon. Bunnymund and Tooth had taken him to the Pole to drop off his things before he went off to give the world a white Christmas. They were at the Pole, now, with Sandy, back to their normal forms and standing outside to watch the sleigh approach.

Jack waved to them, and they waved back, motioning for him to come over. It was his first intent, but there was a sudden whoosh of air and then a searing pain in his head that knocked him to the ground. He was falling, falling, the wind was trying to keep him up, and then it was all black.

Jack's eyes fluttered open with a little start, but he didn't jolt up. His head was throbbing and it reminded him of the fever he had gotten a while ago. "You're awake!" a voice gasped.

He turned to meet the sparkling eyes of Tooth, who was happily fluttering by his bedside. "Baby Tooth was worried," she chuckled, her little charge flying over to Jack and nuzzling his cheek with a happy squeak. She dragged a hand across his forehead, and Jack realized that there were bandages there. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible," he admitted with a laugh.

"You'll be back on you feet in no time," Tooth assured him, smiling softly as he fiddled with a strand of his hair before tucking it behind his ear.

"What... happened, exactly?" he asked, rubbing the back of his sore head.

Tooth bit her lip and laughed nervously. "North was just coming back from his run, and you didn't see him, so... you kind of got hit by the sleigh."

Jack sputtered in surprise. "_Kind of?_"

"You just got your head hit pretty hard..." she smoothed back her feathers a bit nervously. "You've been out since yesterday." Upon hearing that, Jack made to get up, but Tooth pushed him back into bed. "You're not going anywhere, mister. Not for a little while longer, anyway. North's crashing now too... he was really worried, but we told him we'd take turns watching you."

Jack collapsed against the bed, sighing and rubbing his bandaged forehead. He looked out the large window to his left and saw the sun setting. "I've been out since yesterday..." he muttered to himself. A gasp left his mouth and he started to scrambled out of bed. "I was gonna go to Burgess and see Jamie an-and-"

Tooth laughed and gently pushed him back into bed. "Calm down, Jack, you still have over a week before you go back... you can visit Jamie anytime." She paused, hearing heavy thumps in the hallway. "Ah, North is up. If you're not going to fly out the nearest window, we can go chat with the others." Jack reluctantly nodded, grabbing his staff and hefting it over his shoulder. He got out of bed and Baby Tooth settled on his shoulder. He laughed and patted the top of her head.

"Hey, Tooth," he said as they both left the room, "where's my school stuff?"

"Oh, North put it in one of the storage areas, I think, so the elves wouldn't get into it. They're too short to reach the door handles." Both Guardians laughed at the image and rounded the corner to the area beside the globe room where North served his guests. At the table, North, Sandy and Bunny were already seated. They all looked up at the arrival of Tooth and Jack.

"Ah, good to see you both!" North said cheerily. "Jack, I trust you're feeling better?"

Jack nodded, grinning. "Fit as a fiddle," he said as he sat down.

"You got lucky this time," Bunny smirked, fiddling with one of his boomerangs. "Surprised you don't have a reindeer shaped dent on your forehead. Told North to be careful riding that death-trap."

North looked embarrassed at this and Sandy nodded in agreement, a little smile on his face. He waved to Jack in happy greeting.

"Oh, haha, let's make fun of the person with the head injury." Jack rolled his eyes but a betraying grin lit up his face as he waved back to Sandy.

"That does sound rather enjoyable," a voice said behind him. He heard the soft pitter-patter of footsteps behind him followed by a cat's meow. He frowned. Jack whipped around in his seat (so fast it made him dizzy) and saw Adrian curled up at the leg of his chair, teeth and eyes shining maliciously. Jack growled at the cat, who hissed back, crouching defensively. Pitch was standing a few feet away, looking overall pleased with himself. "I've come to join the festivities of Christmas." He took a seat, offered to him by North, and Jack's head hit the table.

This was going to be the worst vacation of his life.


	10. Memories

**A/N: **I was sick, so I didn't finish this chapter, so I'll just split it in two. It's gonna be kind of a long one, anyway... The plot is finally picking up these next two chapters!

Enjoy~

* * *

"Who even invited you?" Jack groaned, lifting his head up from his previous bashing it against the table in despair. "And I thought you hated Christmas." he muttered, sulkily crossing his arms and slinking down further in his seat. Adrian trotted around Jack's feet and meowed. He grunted in response, nudging the cat away with his bare foot.

Pitch rolled his eyes and pulled an envelope from his robes. "I'll have you know that I am invited. Either that, or I received this via owl as a cruel sort of joke." He snorted and threw the envelope onto the table. Jack looked over the table and snatched the envelope before anyone else could. There was a fancy red seal on the envelope, and on the back, a large fancy "G". He could safely guess that it stood for Guardians.

His eyes narrowed accusingly at his fellow Guardians as Pitch took a seat. They wouldn't just send it out on accident. It was obvious that they only sent out mail when it was important, when they needed to. Now he just needed to find out who sent it.

"So, Jack!" Tooth said, trying to avert the conversation to a different subject. The yetis entered the room and laid several hot plates on the table full of food. Despite not needing to eat much at all, Jack felt his stomach growl at the sight of the food. "What house did you get sorted into?"

"Huh?" Jack sat up in his chair, due to the insistence of Baby Tooth tugging at his hood strings. "Oh, uh... I got sorted into Slytherin,"

"Slytherin?" she repeated. Jack nodded, looking down on his plate. He didn't anticipate how the other Guardians might react to his sorting, since most of the students in the castle hated Slytherin with a burning passion, and Slytherin hated them back. But she smiled warmly and grinned at him. "I think the Slytherin house has gained a wonderful student."

Jack gave a small grin back, feeling his worries dissipate. He turned back to the task at hand, the food being dished onto the immortals' plates by the yetis. Baby Tooth flew down next to Jack's plate and started picking at some of his chicken. "Hey, stop that," he said, flicking her away with a suppressed smile. "Go steal it from Pitch's plate."

"No." Pitch replied steadily, glaring at the tiny fairy.

The feast the had together was on the quieter side, but Sandy, silent as always, managed to coax everyone into talking to each other when things got quiet again. Eventually, the Guardians and Pitch gathered around North's large fireplace, sitting in chairs that the Yetis had brought up for them. Jack was struggling to stay awake, the headache taking its toll again. He laid himself across the armchairs, using the chair like a small couch, yawning as his eyes closed. His staff lay on the ground beside the chair, having dropped from his hand lazily a little while ago.

"And later I'll show you guys the wand I got... 's pretty cool... mh." He rubbed his eyes and yawned again. Adrian, Pitch's cat, was settled on Jack's lap, curled up on his chest. He didn't bother moving, lest he waken the beast. But the purring from the sandy companion was rather comforting. His breathing evened out and he drifted off to sleep.

"Oh, what I wouldn't give for a camera," Bunnymund chuckled, leaning back in his seat contentedly. Sandy giggled silently, sending over a stream of Dreamsand to the sleeping boy, while his sand glowed outside as well. He got one or two nights off every year around Christmas, when all the Guardians got together to just enjoy each others' company and take a break from their jobs.

"Has he been getting enough sleep?" Tooth asked Pitch quietly, floating next to where he sat.

Pitch nodded, "He has recently. There was a bit of time where he had some trouble sleeping, during October. He hasn't told me otherwise since then."

Tooth rubbed the feathers on her arm absently, eyes turning to Jack's still form on the chair. His chest barely moved when he breathed, it was a little unsettling. Baby Tooth was nestled in his hood, sleeping soundly as well. She smiled fondly at the two of them, grabbing a blanket that was draped over another chair, and laid it over Jack. Adrian patted at it lazily before settling back into sleep, accepting the blanket over the two of them.

North and Bunnymund were also conversing quietly, and Tooth was glad that her brief exchange with Pitch had gone unnoticed. The Guardians were all silent for a while longer; all of them were thinking the same thing, but none of them would voice it. Pitch was the one to finally break the silence. "There's nothing we can do but wait for it to happen. There's no point in trying to stop it, because it will happen. Manny told you." He sneered at the nickname for the moon, crossing his arms.

"Manny could've meant someone else, y'know." Bunnymund reasoned, trying to make light of the hopeless situation he knew was to come.

"Do I need to spell it out for you, rabbit? I've been well informed of what was said." Pitch muttered. It was part of what MiM had said to the Guardians just days before they contacted Dumbledore and asked him to take Jack into the school. Days before Tooth sought out Pitch for his help...

_"And to what do I owe this pleasurable visit?"_

_Tooth's eyes darted somewhat nervously around the spacious cavern she was in, then back to Pitch who was leaning against his own metal-plated globe with a rather bored expression. She had heard what MiM had said and decided that she would be the one to get Pitch, and get his help. _

_"I need your help, Pitch," she confessed._

_He scoffed, picking at his nails with a bored expression. "Do you, now? Am I so obligated to do so? As I recall, our last encounter wasn't so fun for me, so I'm quite partial to say no." He sought out the space in his mouth where Tooth had knocked one of his teeth out and raised an eyebrow pointedly._

_"Sorry about that..." Tooth laughed nervously, smoothing her feathers over. "But really, I came here for an important matter." She took a deep breath before speaking again. "Surely, you know of Voldemort's rise to power..."_

_"Surely. It's given me quite the boost of power, the fear from all of those worried fools..."_

_Tooth frowned, "And Jack is in trouble."_

_"What has the little fool done now?"_

_"Voldemort knows, Pitch." Pitch visibly stiffened, eyeing Tooth warily. "He knows of the Guardians, he knows about Jack. The Moon told us and we're sending Jack somewhere safe for a while. To Hogwarts."_

_A bit of a fond smile tugged at Pitch's lips at the mention of the school and he nodded. "Right. Good choice. Albus will be overseeing the boy there, then?"_

_"Actually, no. And... and that's why I'm here."_

_Pitch scoffed, and gave Tooth a deadpan expression. "You can't be serious. One of you would obviously be much more happy doing it, and it makes more sense if you weirdos take care of him! I want nothing to do with the boy-"  
_

_"It has to be you, Pitch!" Tooth yelled, feathers puffing up in exasperation. "Manny said so."_

_"Do you honestly think I care about what the damnable fool said?"_

_"He told us a prophecy, Pitch."_

_Pitch was silent once again. Straightening up, trying to regain his composure, he cleared his throat with agitation. "You're sure?"_

_Tooth nodded, taking another deep breath. "He didn't say much, but I know there's more to it, more he's going to say. We just don't know when."_

_Pitch turned on his heel away from Tooth, fists clenched. "I want nothing to do with this foolishness."_

_Tooth flitted over to him. "It's your duty. You know you have to." When Pitch didn't respond, she added cheerfully, "You like your teeth, right?"_

_Baffled, he nodded. _

_Tooth smiled, twirling a quarter between her fingers. "It would be a shame if... something happened to them."_

Bottom line, Pitch was never going to underestimate the fairy queen again. She could be quite persuasive when she needed to be. It annoyed Pitch, but he was actually somewhat alright with helping. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tooth smirk a little, as if they were both remembering the same thing. He rolled his eyes at her and rested his head against an upturned palm. "Any luck on finding more about 'It', North?"

North shook his head slowly, sighing heavily. "I have not had much time because of Christmas... but now that I have a bit of time before the next Christmas, then I will start looking into it more."

Pitch nodded, his eyes drifting over to where Adrian was batting at the gold sand above Jack's head with hisses of annoyance at the golden dolphins. He suppressed a chuckled, turning his head away from the sight, back to the Guardians. "If anything else happens, I will let you know."

Bunnymund frowned a little at Pitch. "You been keepin' him away from the Forbidden Forest?"

"Of course I have. I know better than you what's waiting there." He suppressed a bit of a shudder and stood up. "I'd best be going, now." He snapped his fingers pointedly at his cat. Adrian did not listen, instead perching itself atop Jack's head, batting at the golden dolphin that swam out of its range. Jack smiled in his sleep and Pitch groaned.

"You may stay here tonight if you wish," North said, smiling as he clapped a hand on Pitch's shoulder. "Just don't cause any mischief. Then I may have to break your spine in bone-crushing hug of appreciation."

"Got it," Pitch scoffed, stalking off after North, who was leading him to a guest room. Still, he felt satisfied as he thought over the evening's events. Maybe Christmas wasn't so terrible after all. At least, not this year. And hanging out with these crummy idiots almost brought a smile to his face. It was absolutely terrifying.

* * *

_"You're... leaving?" _

_Jack stared down into the eyes of his horrified younger sister. She was but six years old, and Jack was leaving town with his father on a hunting trip. Food in the village was growing scarce, so they were moving onto different territory to see if they would have any better luck there. Jack was fifteen, soon to be sixteen._

_He smiled at his younger sister and knelt down, ruffling her hair comfortingly. "Hey, don't worry! We'll be back soon."_

_"Liar," the girl accused quietly, tearful gaze shifting to the floor. "Papa said it was going to be at least a few weeks." She wiped at the reoccuring tears in her eyes, which annoyed her, because she didn't want to look weak in front of her brother. She was going to be a strong little girl, like her mother and the other mothers of the village. "What if you get hurt? Wh-what if ... what if you don't come back?" Tears filled her eyes again and she launched herself, hugging her brother tight and gripping his shirt tighter._

_Jack knelt down to his younger sister's height and hugged her back tightly. "A-and who'll tend to the sheep? Have snowball fights and play with me? Help Ma with the other chores?"_

_"Hey, you're acting like I'm walking into a deathtrap," Jack scoffed, trying not to roll his eyes as he pulled away from his little sister to look her in the eye. "I'll be back as soon as I can Emma, I promise. Unless you want everyone to starve to death? Be skinny like me?" He grabbed her hand, gently poking his side with her fingers._

_She giggled a little, trying to stifle the laugh with her free hand. "Quit laughing, this is serious!" he exclaimed, adopting an expression of mock graveness. The little girl burst out into loud laughter and Jack began to tickle her, only making it all worse._

_"Ja-Jack! Stooop it - he-heheh - JACK!" _

_He laughed and finally let his laughing sister go, who fell to the ground in a dizzy heap. He sat beside her, putting an arm around her. "Don't worry about us so much. I won't always be around, you know. Gotta get used to not having me around. Besides, I'm just your annoying older brother." he laughed softly, ruffling her hair again._

_"You're not annoying!" the girl protested, "You're amazing, Jack! You always make me laugh even though you trick me lots!"_

_"Well, I'm doing my job, then!"_

The two collapsed into a fit of laughter again and slowly, the vision faded to blackness...

Jack woke up with a start, falling off his chair, Adrian hissing as he jumped away before the boy could land on him. Jack rubbed his sore head, staring at the ground for the longest time as the vision swam through his head. He kept listening to the voice of the little girl, even as it began to fade, everything about her seeming familiar in a way he couldn't quite place it.

Why was he having dreams about his past again? That's what it was, right? The last time he had one... it had been a little while after that strange vision with Ollivander. That seemed like a faraway dream, now...

And why was he seeing all this? What, or who, was showing him? He looked at the rays of moonlight shining at him through the open window with narrowed eyes. Jack hefted himself up and grabbed his staff, while Adrian looked disappointed at not being able to bat at the dream above Jack's head now that he was conscious. He didn't even bother glaring at the cat. It was too early for this.

The sky of the North Pole was still dark with stars. But in Burgess, it was probably already late-morning, into the early hours of the afternoon. If he was going to go see Jamie and his friends, now was the perfect time. After finding a pen and paper and scribbling a quick note, Jack pinned it to the door of North's office before dashing off through the window and letting the wind take him back to the town he so dearly missed.

Jack landed near his lake first - maybe it wasn't really his, but ever since he found out about his memories, it had only strengthened the attatchment - and sighed in contentment when his feet touched the familiar icy surface. The wind and the forest, the animals and all of nature in the area seemed to welcome him back. He had created a few storms already, wanting to give a lot of snow to the children of the world as a bit of a late-Christmas present.

Jack whooped with joy and jumped high into the sky, the wind billowing around him as it began to snow. He started sailing through the busy streets; he felt the same joy the same day he had given Jamie that sled ride so many years ago. An idea coming to mind, he silently flew to Jamie's house after wreaking some good-natured havoc on the citizens of Burgess. Sophie was in the backyard as expected, playing with Abbey. She was a little slower now, over the years, but still had that same ferocious look for strangers. She gave Jack that look when he landed in the backyard until Sophie calmed her down.

"Jack!" she cried, running forward and throwing her arms around him, nearly pushing him to the ground. "I - missed you - so much!" Sophie squealed happily.

"M-missed you, too, kiddo!" he choked out, laughing breathlessly and hugging her back. "But keep it down, would you? I'm trying to surprise Jamie..." He looked at the house, but no one had seemed to hear them. Yet, anyway. "Hey, do you know where Jamie keeps his old sled? Does he still have it?"

Sophie nodded eagerly and began skipping towards a garage nearby. "Yep! It's in here!" She looked at him curiously as she opened the door. "Why d'you need it?"

"Let's just say I'm giving him a late Christmas surprise," he replied with a mischeivous grin. Sophie grinned back with a grin that rivaled Jack's own and led him into the shed to find the sled.

* * *

Jamie was gathered on the couch with his friends; Pippa, Monty, Claude, Caleb, and Cupcake. Sophie was in the back playing with Abbey - he really just wanted a chance to dismiss her a bit so he could hang out with his friends by himself - but was beginning to grow bored of trivial card tricks. He had only heard from Jack in letters over the past few months. He knew Jack had a job as Guardian, but he was never so busy that he couldn't see Jamie for months. It worried Jamie.

And winter had been pretty dismal so far too, no major snowstorms or blizzards. Not until Christmas night, anyway. Jamie had waited eagerly that night for Jack to visit, but he never came. He was getting worried. But at around eleven in the afternoon, a snowstorm began ti whip itself up. He called over his friends so they could wait it out until Jack showed up.

Pippa was sitting on the far side of the couch, bent over some dusty old book with a serious expression; Claude and Caleb were arm-wrestling for the last bit of Christmas candy; Cupcake was raiding Jamie's fridge, as usual; and Monty was on his computer, updating his blog. After a little while, Jamie was tensely pacing around the room.

"He should be here!"

Cupcake rolled her eyes, chewing on a slice of leftover cheesecake that Jamie's mother had made for Christmas. "Relax, Jamie. Worrying about it isn't going to solve anything."

"It's been snowing for like, two hours! Really hard! Why isn't he here yet?"

Pippa hid a knowing smile as she continued to read. "Don't be such a baby. He'll be here soon, really."

Claude cleared his throat and made a distressed face. "Oh, Jack! How it pains me for us to be parted!"

Caleb, quickly catching onto his twin's antics, gave a devilish grin. "Worry not, Jamie Bennet, I have arrived!"

Claude put a hand to his forehead and sighed dramatically. "Oh, Mr. Frost!"

Caleb pulled his twin into a dip and whispered possessively, "No one must know!"

They all burst into loud fits of laughter, while Jamie, livid, looked ready to murder all of them. His face sufficiently reddened, he sunk back down on the couch next to Pippa, groaning and covering his face with his hands. "Seriously, man. Jack's gonna be here soon! No use crying about it." Claude said.

"Urgh..." Jamie muttered in response, only looking up to glare at them. His eyes drifted onto the book Pippa was reading, which detailed a strange looking plant. He leaned over to get a better look. Pippa frowned at him and shut the book. Jamie away and she opened it again. He looked over at it again and she slammed it shut. This continued for a few minutes, until they both sighed in frustration at each other.

Monty suppressed a snicker, exchanging knowing looks with his friends.

A few moments later, the back door burst open. Sophie raced inside the house, Abbey close at her heels. "Jamie! Jamie! It's Jack! He's here, he's here!"

Jamie jumped up from the couch, forgetting his ambition to scold Sophie for tracking snow all over the house. "Really?" His other friends stood up, excited also, but none so much as Jamie.

Sophie giggled and nodded, racing to the front door. "Yeah! He's out front by your sled!"

"My sled?" Jamie repeated quietly, frowning a little. He quickly threw on his winter attire, his friends following suit. He burst out the door happily, eyes searching the area for any sign of Jack. "Jack!" he called, running over to the sled in his front yard. He nudged it with his foot and frowned. "Sophie? You sure he's-" He turned to his sister, who was bearing the strangest smile. "Sophie?" he asked uncertainly.

Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of him and Jamie was thrown down onto the sled. A laugh and the shouts of his other friends registered in his ears and suddenly, he was flying down the sidewalk through the snow. He gripped the sides of his sled tightly, looking around for the source of the criminal. Jack was flying beside him easily, laughing and creating a path of ice ahead of him with his staff.

"Jack! What are you doing?" Jamie yelped, ducking low to avoid his head getting hit by Jack's staff, which he was swinging around excitedly.

"Giving you your Christmas present!" the other laughed in reply.

Jamie covered his eyes with one arm, moaning. "I can't watch..."

"You'd better! C'mon, keep up with me, take a left!" The sled veered left with Jack's guidance, through the busy street and onto the sidewalk.

"No no no no, what are you doing!" he yelled again, repeatedly apologizing to bystanders that he nearly ran over. "This is the sidewalk! For people to walk on!"

Jack shrugged, "Not my fault if they can't get out of the way!" He led the speeding sled into the street again so that the pedsetrians would not be bugged by the fun he was having with Jamie. And despite himself, Jamie started to laugh. They continued down the streets of Burgess at high speed, and son, Jamie found himself in the familiar situation of heading straight-first for a snow plow.

Jack diverted the path of the sleigh again and Jamie flew off the icy ramp onto a pile of snow. Jack landed on the statue nearby, laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. "Oh man, that was great... you should've seen your face!"

Jamie staggered dizzily to his feet, panting for breath, and trying to steady himself. He looked over at Jack and rolled his eyes. "You idiot," he muttered, rolling his eyes. But nevertheless, he trapped him in a tight hug, saying, "I missed you, Jack."

Jack hugged back, grinning. "I missed you too, kiddo."


	11. Snowballs and Fun Times

**A/N: **_Hey guys! Sorry, I had to skip the rest of the Christmas stuff for now, because I don't want to spend too long on it. But this chapter is another one filled with more fluffy shenanigans before everything goes black. Pitch Black. (I'm so sorry that's my favorite pun even though it's really dumb ehehhe) I just wanted to get in an update before Easter, hehe xD There will be large time skip for the next chapter, just so you all know and are prepared! If anyone can guess the mystery objects in the chapter, you get a cookie c;_

_Also, thank you, everyone, for all the reviews! I can't believe I got over 100 recently! I'm so glad you all like the story this much, even if I don't always have time to reply to all of the reviews. You all make my day :") _

_Next chapter will be quite action-filled, though it may take a little bit longer to post than usually. I might post some pairings next chapter, if I have anything decided by then._

_And without further ado, enjoy~_

* * *

"You're taller."

The first thing noticed about Emma when he had gone to the tower after returning to Hogwarts from Christmas break was that the little ghost girl had changed. She looked older, now. And she was taller. Almost past his shoulder. It confused him.

Were ghosts supposed to grow? Did they ever change at all? Then again, Emma didn't have a tongue But somehow she was able to say words the last time he saw her.

Brushing it off, he assumed his usual place on the windo of the tower. Emma floated over to him eagerly, smiling as she sat across from him. "Jack," she said happily. He liked the sound of her voice. She sounded so happy to say his name, so happy to see him. "Jack, Jack, Jack!"

He laughed and opened his bag. "Hey, I got some cool stuff for Christmas. Wanna see?"

She clapped her hands together and laughed, nodding.

Jack pulled out a small camera from his bag. Emma stared at it with a puzzled expression. "It's called a camera. It takes pictures. Kind of like a painting, but... not exactly, I guess. It's a digital one. North and the others gave it to me." Jack shrugged his shoulders, unsure of how to explain it all himself. "Here, stay right there and, uh... smile or something."

Emma straightened her posture and smiled. Jack pressed the button on the camera. It flashed and Emma covered her mouth in surprise, stifling a giggle. When the flash died down, a small picture came out of a slot below the lens.

Jack pulled it out, grinning. He waited for the picture to show up and displayed it to Emma. It showed her smiling, and then her surprised giggling face. Emma looked at it in amazement, grinning back at Jack. "It's one of those special wizard cameras. North made it by himself, too!"

He ran his thumb over the side, frowning. An idea popped into his head and he laughed, closing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "I'll be back later, Emma. I have an idea..."

* * *

Draco brushed off his robes, irritated, settling down onto one of the chairs in the common room with a vivid look. He looked over his shoulder cautiously, and was glad to see that he finally lost the idiot who had been chasing him for the last half hour. "If someone doesn't get that damned camera away from Jack, I swear to Merlin..."

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," Pansy stifled a laugh, looking up from her essay. "Is Jack harassing you with his happiness again? Or is it everyone else too?"

Draco, unable to muster up a proper response, just sunk further down in his chair with a groan. He was tired, and his head hurt. With the burden he already had placed on him, he didn't want Jack fooling around and making his headache even worse.

"Hey." Pansy leaned over in her chair, hands folded in her lap. She peered at Draco curiously, afraid he might blow up at her from the slightest touch. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he replied dryly, "I'm absolutely fine."

Pansy nodded slowly and settled back into her chair. Draco, feeling guilty, averted his gaze. It was nice that Pansy wanted to know what was troubling him, but he couldn't tell them. He couldn't tell anyone. He could barely tell Crabbe and Goyle enough to get them to work with him! Things were slowly, but surely, falling apart. He had to find some way to keep it all together and do what he needed to do. He'd show up Snape, too, that damned fool.

Speaking of which... he was late.

He stood up and left the common room, trying to ignore Pansy's judging, curious stare at his back while he left.

He headed to the Room of Requirement straightaway, muttering an unenthusiastic hello to Goyle on his way in. He leaned against the door of the room and sighed heavily, staring up at the enormous pile of objects ahead of him. The Dark Lord said it was in here somewhere, he just needed to find it...

"Might as well start now..." Draco muttered to himself. He had all the time he needed; and Jack wouldn't be bothering him with that stupid camera of his while he was in here...

Draco looked through the large pile of junk for hours, or that's what it seemed like. He'd come across many different things, most of which he didn't care about, despite whatever worth they held. No, he was looking for one thing in particular...

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glint of blue light from underneath a box. He immediately moved over to it, lifting the box off whatever it was.

It was a long, sharp glowing crystal, attached to a thin, dark wood, some of which coiled around the base of the crystal. This was no doubt what Voldemort had showed him.

Alright, the easy part was over; find the staff. Now was the harder part.

Draco sunk to the floor, clutching the staff with both his hands. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this. He had to do it, but he couldn't do it! He couldn't kill Dumbledore, and he couldn't do this new task given to him at Christmas. But his father and mother...

_You have to!_

_I can't._

_He'll kill them!_

_I know I can't do this._

_Do it._

_I can't, I won't!_

These thoughts constantly raged Draco's mind whenever he had to think of the task he was assigned. He took deep breaths and closed his eyes, not wanting to have a stupid breakdown. He really needed to talk to Myrtle again. It was actually kind of nice talking to her. Nice talking to someone who wouldn't judge him or anything. He needed someone like that in his life, he really did, because he had a lot that he was judged for.

He looked at the staff in his lap, running his fingers over the dark handle. It was a nice staff, really. It reminded him of Jack's staff.

Draco quickly pushed away any and all thoughts of Jack and stood up. He set the mantle against the door. He would leave it here for now. He still had some time before he had to do it... he still had time to find a way out of this. If there was any way out at all.

He pulled at the crystal on the end of the staff, tugging it hard to get it out. It was supposed to come out, that's what he heard. So why wasn't-

It flew off suddenly and Draco fell back onto the ground from the whiplash of the struggle, grunting in pain as he hit the pile of objects. Several things tottered and tumbled down, but nothing major. Oh, great. Now he had to go and look for the damn thing again!

He scoffed and got up, throwing his robe on the ground for easier mobility. He walked to the other side of the room to where he saw it flying. On his way over, he stubbed his foot against something hard and metal. He grit his teeth and bent down, retrieving a silver locket. He carelessly tossed it over his shoulder, feeling satisfied with the thud it made landing somewhere else in the room.

Draco noticed the familiar white-blue glint of the crystal and he picked it up. It was almost shaped like an obscenely long tear drop now that it was separated from the staff. He closed his eyes and sighed. He still had until March. He could still wait. If it turned out that the mead didn't reach Dumbledore, then he would put his next plan into action.

With the crystal found, Draco had time. And while he still had all this time, he may as well get back to work on those cabinets again.

* * *

Hermione slammed the book shut almost violently, coughing away a cloud of dust in the air that followed it. She had been in the library again for hours, searching through any books she could think of that might relate to what she was looking for; but she hadn't found one helpful thing! Not one little fact, one little scrap of information. Merlin, it was frustrating to say the least.

Pansy, on the other side of her checking another row of books, looked up and sighed. "No luck?"

"No luck," Hermione repeated sadly. "I just... don't get it! There's nothing here!"

"Well, it's not like there's some sort of student manual just hanging about in the library." Pansy shrugged her shoulders, closing a thick black book and setting it back in its proper place on the shelf.

"What are we even supposed to be looking for?" Pansy asked, lowering her voice as she continued, "I mean, we know he can fly. Maybe his staff is enchanted or something. His great-uncle can do a lot of strange and cool things, from what I've heard from Jack himself.

Hermione sighed, throwing her hanse up in exasperation. "Maybe, but… but there's something more. I know there is. We just have to find it…"

Pansy nodded, patting her friend's shoulder. "You do that. I'm going to go get some dinner and see if I can't find Draco."

"Any idea about what he's up to?"

Pansy shook her head. "About as much information as we have on Jack."

Hermione watched Pansy go, staring at where she had been long after she left. The gears in her mind creaked and turned over and over, prying information out of wherever it was hiding. She just couldn't figure it out, and it was so frustrating! What was so odd about Jack Frost, exactly, that drove her to look all these things up? She could be studying, or spend her time being mad at Ron, or even be looking up things about the Half-Blood Prince. So, why Jack?

The click of a camera shutter brought her out of her thoughts and she turned, shielding her eyes from the bright light before it died down, revealing Jack, holding a camera, and grinning at her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Taking pictures of everyone! I got a camera for Christmas!" he replied happily, hefting his staff over his shoulder and putting the camera back inside his pocket. "Looking up more stuff to read?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, "Uh, sort of, yeah."

"What kind of stuff?"

"You're rather curious today, aren't you?"

Jack laughed, "I'm always curious!"

Hermione exhaled heavily through her nose. Honestly, Jack was like a child. A tall, lanky, excitable child. Trying to hide the smile on her face, she said, "Well, I've been looking up legends recently, if you must know. I'm not having much luck in finding any - wait, where are you going?"

Jack had started walking down another aisle of books and motioned for Hermione to follow. "They're down here," he whispered. Pitch had showed him where to find the kind of books he wanted to read were so he could navigate around the library himself and not have to bug Pitch all the time to find more books to read. Now that he started reading, Jack really couldn't stop. It was addicting and fun. He wished he spent more time doing it through all those years of silence and loneliness.

There was large bookshelf with many different books, all on legends and myths, Muggle or Wizard. He tiptoed and swiped a large blue book off the shelf, brushing the dust off the cover. "This one's really cool," he said. "It's got all this stuff about this Scottish princess, and some demon bear-" he grabbed a worn, brown book off the shelf and continued, "-and this one is all about dragons! And this one," he held up a book with a tattered yellow cover, "is about a princess who lives in this huge tower, and she has super long hair, and-"

Hermione cut him off with a laugh, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to try and stop it. But really, it was hard not to. "I-it sounds great," Hermione said through fits of giggles, "Sorry, it's just… you're really good at making people laugh, you know? You're a really fun person, Jack."

Jack was a little surprised initially, but it turned into a smug grin. "I am the most fun person I know."

"I think that's just what everyone needs. Things haven't been so fun this year for everyone…" Hermione trailed off, thinking of the fractured friendship and feelings she was dealing with due to Ron, the stupid prat he was being.

Jack nodded in agreement, brushing some dust off the books with an idle expression. "Yeah. Things haven't been sounding fun with what's going on in the world…"

The library was silent again, their whispers ceasing. Jack really wished that he could fix all of that; try and spread some more fun and joy, like Hermione said he was good at doing. He frowned, thinking hard. A thought popped into his mind and a grin lit up his face. Hermione, noticing, tried not to step back nervously. "Jack? What are you planning?"

"I'll be right back!" he whispered happily, and shoved the books at her. "Take those - just go get Ron and Harry and bring them outside in half an hour, okay? Try and find a way out of the castle without being noticed!"

"Wait, what do you want us outside for?" she hissed, trying to keep up with him.

"Tell you when you get there!"

And just like that, he was gone. Hermione sighed heavily, weighing the books in her hands and standing still where she was. She finally moved, heading toward the Gryffindor common room. Whatever he had in mind, it had better be good, she thought to herself.

Jack had spent the better part of an hour trying to track Draco down and once did, he did not let him out of his sight.

"Let go of me!" Draco groaned for the nth time, trying in vain to get out of the iron grip Jack had on his wrist.

"Nope!" Another voice chirped and Pansy appeared beside him, smiling. Blaise stood behind the two of them as well, suppressing a smirk. "We're kidnapping you for the greater good."

"You two take it from here," Jack laughed, letting Blaise and Pansy take over the duty of dragging Draco along. "I'll meet you there!"

Jack had already met up with Luna and Neville a little earlier, as soon as he had told Hermione. He hurried up the usual place in his tower. Emma wasn't there right now, but he was all right with that. He had other fish to fry, after all. It was a cold, starry night. It was chilly out, puffs of air exiting his mouth like smoke from a cigarette.

He laughed to himself and floated up to the roof, landing on his two feet. No one was there; yet. But he knew that Luna and Neville would be here very soon. So, he set off to work. Swinging his staff through the air, he summoned the wind, the temperature in the air dropping. Snow began to drift down from the sky in soft white flakes.

He heard footsteps approaching, and then Luna's voice calling out to him. He bent down to grab a handful of snow, packing it together, and breathed a light blue dust on it. All his friends arrived within the next few minutes, though they gave each other rather wary glances. Then they turned to Jack, wondering just what he wanted with them at this time of night. They weren't supposed to be out of the castle anyway.

"Alright, my friends!" he said, grinning. "We're gonna have a bit of fun."

* * *

Jack felt like everything was right in the world again when he hobbled off to bed again, helping Draco into the dorm after dark.

It was a Saturday, and it was snowing heavily outside. Draco was sleeping in, and it looked like he needed it too. Last night went well. He think he had helped things a little between Hermione and Ron. They went off together laughing, and Harry had looked so relaxed and grateful at that. Draco was even smiling a bit when they left, and so was Blaise. Pansy, Neville, and Luna couldn't stop laughing together as they snuck back inside.

The moon's beams glittered over the castle and Jack began to fall asleep, mind not registering the howls that he was hearing in the distance; they were saying it was almost time, almost time...


	12. Blood in the Forest

******A/N: **Just_ gonna warn you guys: this chapter is a bit bloody. If that bothers you, you can wait to read this and I can put a little summary of what happened in the next chapter. Sorry if this thing makes you kinda uncomfortable, but it has to happen, unfortunately. butistillhadalotoffunplanningthisoutteehee_

_The storyline in this is almost lined up with actual time now, which is what I've been aiming for ever since I posted it. That being said, it will either be finished in the summer, or it will take a hiatus during that time. And it WILL extend into the seventh book, but with major changes, obviously._

_Once again, thank you thank you THANK YOU SO MUCH! I appreciate everyone's feedback and thoughts, even if I'm not able to reply to your reviews. I even saw someone recommending this story in a post on tumblr, which totally made my day. I love you guys so much, and thanks for all the support!_

_And without any further ado, here is the chapter~_

* * *

_Run._

_Run._

_RUN!_

_Go faster, you're going to get caught!_

_I know your legs really hurt but you can't stop running!_

_It's behind you!_

_Keep going!_

_RUN!_

Jack desperately wished for the voice in his head to quit voicing his concerns, but he supposed that was what the voice in your head was supposed to do. Nevertheless, it was annoying, and distracting. He knew he had to keep running, despite the pain in his legs and his lungs and the rest of the aches in his body. He didn't know which way was up or down anymore, which direction he was running in. He just kept blindly moving forward, trying to ignore the sounds coming from behind him.

How could he be so stupid? Those kids wouldn't have gone into the forest without ample reason, and Pitch had warned him not to go, under any circumstances. He was starting to deeply regret not listening to that warning. He would have much preferred being trapped in the castle by rules instead of racing through the forest for his life.

The moon, high in the night sky, shined down on him, but did not offer him any help or any words. Then again, it hadn't for three hundred years, so why would it start now? He suppressed a bitter laugh that threatened to bubble out of his throat, though it exited as a cry when his foot caught a thorny root and he was sent spiraling to the ground.

Jack gritted his teeth and gripped his ankle tightly in pain, his other hand curling around the familiar wood that was his staff - thank goodness he still had it. He would've been worse off if he ended up losing it. He paused, listening for any other sounds. He stayed completely still, not even daring to breathe too loud. When he was sure there was nothing, he stood up, stifling a pained cry by biting down on his lip. His ankle throbbed in immense pain.

The boy leaned on his staff for support, gripping the icy wood tightly with both of his hands. This was all because of his wand. All because of his stupid wand. And those stupid boys who went into the forest. At least he'd told Pippa to get back to the castle. He should have known something was fishy, but no, he was just too stupid to see it in time. The cool ice on the staff soothed his burn a little, but the pain was still there, as well as the pain in his ankle. This was just not a good day for him.

"Great," Jack muttered, resisting the urge to kick the ground with his good foot. "Lost in the huge forest Pitch told me not to go into. _Fantastic_."

In a way, it was akin to when he was stranded in the crevasse in Antarctica. But he never had a sense of such loneliness then. No, this time, it was sheer panic more than anything else. He idly thought of Baby Tooth and Emma. They were both at the castle, both of them safe. He breathed a soft sigh of relief. Everyone else was safe too. His friends, the Guardians. Everyone except him, anyway.

He wondered where such thoughts were coming from. Jack pushed them to the far back of his mind and started walking again, trying to ignore the blood trailing down his foot and the ever present pain that came with it.

Jack walked for what seemed like quite a while, until his foot gave way and he crumpled to the earth beneath him with a harsh thud. Cursing quietly, he blindly tried to find something that he could use as a source of light. He'd abandoned his wand earlier, thank the Moon, but now he had nothing to inspect the damage with.

He unfortunately did not take notice of the creature creeping up behind him until he heard a twig snap under the claws of the thing's feet. Jack swiveled around, staggering to his feet and aiming his staff at the creature. Moonlight reflected off the monster's eyes, highlighting its long snout, the claws on its hands, and the teeth coated with drool.

A voice, he was not sure if it was the thing's or his own imagination, whispered to him. _"I smell your blood, I smell the moon on you, little spirit. The same moon that turned me into this."_ The claws on the thing glistened with red - was it his imagination, or was it someone else's blood?

_"The Dark Lord declares me to confirm his suspicions. Prepare yourself, I'm going to kill you."_

Jack barely had time for the words to register before the thing threw its head back, howled, and charged at him. He felt excruciating pain in his shoulder as mighty jaws clamped down on it, and he was swallowed into blackness, blue eyes losing their bright light, his mouth open in a silent scream.

* * *

The snow was fading with the coming of spring and while that would usually cause some sort of rejuvenating air in the castle, it was a rather groggy March day, and the students reflected that. Light drizzle outside matched the bland gray sky. It was dull, but Luna liked the smell of the rain, the sound of it when it splattered against windows and the ground alike. Though it was a nice day in her opinion, she sensed something was off.

She hadn't seen Jack all day, that is. Maybe he got sick again or something. She had seen him at dinner the previous night but there had been no sign of him in classes.

The young girl hadn't any idea of where he was. Maybe he was feeling under the weather. But before she decided to check the infirmary, she wanted to say hello to Harry.

On her way to the library, she noticed one of the ghosts trailing behind her and turned to smile at the spirit. She remembered her as the girl she had seen Jack with in the tower. Though, now, she looked a little taller, a little older. "How are you?" she asked.

The spirit managed a strained smile. "Jack," she said.

"Are you looking for him?" The spirit nodded anxiously. "I'm sorry, I don't know where he is either."

"Jack," she repeated firmly. "Jack."

"I don't suppose you can say much else?" wondered Luna as she started to walk again, Emma trailing next to her.

She shook her head. "Jack."

"Don't worry, he can't be far. He's probably just lost track of time somewhere." Emma looked doubtful still, but nodded and followed Luna into the library.

Harry and Hermione were there, Harry reading a book that looked very much scribbled over, and Hermione reading a book with a dusty old cover and pages yellowed with age. She approached them, tapping the bespectacled boy's shoulder to get his attention. "Harry?"

Harry looked up from his book, closing it quickly and straightening in his seat before saying, "Oh, hey Luna. How're you?"

"Fine, I suppose. Weather certainly is nice," she said, taking a seat beside her friends. "if you like rain."

"It's a little too dark for me." Harry admitted with a half-smile.

"Worms come out in this weather," Luna added. "There used to be really big worms that lived here and every time it rained they would split open the ground and try to eat the castle. And when they couldn't, they satisfied themselves with spitting acid at it."

"Interesting," Harry managed to say, trying not to giggle or laugh.

"It's too cold for worms, so I think we'll be safe," Hermione said, closing her book. "At least, it is right now. I'm surprised it's not snowing." The witch shivered, finally joining in the conversation now that she had finished the chapter in her book she had been so focused on when Luna arrived.

"Speaking of, have either of you seen Jack?"

Harry's brow furrowed. "Haven't seen him. Why?"

Luna shrugged, sighing. "I saw him last night, but I haven't seen him at all today... and-" She turned to the ghost that had been behind her moments ago, but she was gone now. "Oh. Well, one of the ghost's seemed anxious. I was just wondering if he was in trouble."

"He's probably pranking someone, if anything." Hermione chuckled a bit. "Either Draco or Professor Black."

"I hope he has pictures," Luna smiled. "He's so fond of that camera."

The three of them talked for a little while longer, until they all left to the Great Hall for dinner. The weather had cleared up now. It had gotten dark early, a full moon rising in the sky. Luna searched the Slytherin table for any sign of Jack, but did not see him. Disappointed, she poked at her food with a slightly bored expression. She had forgotten to check the Hospital Wing. Maybe she could go check it now. It wasn't like she was that hungry, anyway. Most of the students had already left for bed, a few of her friends lingering behind. The Ravenclaw table was just about empty, save herself.

Just as she got up from her table, a loud scream echoed throughout the Great Hall. Panicked gasps and murmurs rose up when the screaming continued. A girl stumbled into the hall, the front of her robes and her face splattered with blood.

It took Luna a second, but she recognized the figure. She sped over to the girl, who was sobbing and unable to stop. "Pippa, it's okay, it's okay..." she said quietly, trying to soothe the other. She heard more footsteps, most likely teachers on their way too. Someone barked orders at the students to stay put and soon Luna found Professors Snape, McGonagall, and Black beside her.

"Are you okay?" Luna asked quietly, eying the blood on her with worry.

"No-not m-mine," she gasped out, wiping at her eyes. Pippa's breath hitched and she sobbed again, "N-not..."

Pitch gently pulled Luna back from the girl and laid a hand on her shoulder. "I need you to stop crying, Pippa," he said quietly, "Calm down enough so you can tell us what happened."

Pippa instinctively wanted to step away from Pitch, out of pure instinct, but he didn't look the least bit threatening. Only concerned. She sobbed several more times and they waited patiently.

"Ms. Matthews?" Professor McGonagall asked quietly. "Are you injured?"

Pippa looked ready to sob even harder but managed to get a handle on herself. She spoke quietly, barely loud enough for the teachers and Luna to hear, "N-no. I-it's not my blood, i... it's Jack's..."

Pitch had dreaded the answer, but he knew it was coming. He slowly stood to his full height, right fist clenched at his side. "What happened?" Snape demanded.

Trying to form words again, Pippa once again struggled with her words and shook her head. "She needs to get to the Hospital Wing." McGonagall turned to Luna. "Ms. Lovegood, I trust you can take her there?"

"Yes, professor," Luna nodded, her voice containing an unusually serious tone. She grabbed Pippa's hand to help steady her while she walked, but stopped cold in her tracks when a loud howl rang throughout the castle, coming from almost directly outside it.

Pippa stifled a shriek, clutching Luna's hand tightly. "Where were you, outside?" Pitch asked, trying to keep his tone steady.

"Th-there were two kids going into the forest, s-so Jack wanted to go and stop them and he took me with. H-he told me it'd be f-fine, but we g-got lost and-" There was another howl and Pippa bit down on her lip, unable to say anything more.

"It attacked us."

Some of the students that had been lingering at the tables were walking over to the scene. Luna could spot Harry and Neville coming over, while Ron and Hermione stood at the tables with worried looks. "Professors, what's going on?"

"I think that's hardly any of your business, Mr. Potter," Snape replied curtly. He turned to McGonagall, ignoring whatever else Harry had to say. "We need to get all the students to bed, and ensure that no one else is in danger."

"Right you are, Severus," McGonagall sighed heavily, looking at he students in the Great Hall.

"T-two Hufflepuff boys," Pippa spoke up, able to get a little control of her voice. "There two Hufflepuff boys who w-went in the forest. I-I think they were second years."

"Oh, great. Children in the deadly, terrifying forest. What could possibly go wrong?" Pitch muttered to himself. "In any case, we should go look for them, shouldn't we?"

McGonagall nodded. "Yes, I... I suppose so... Severus, Pitchiner, you two go and search the forest. But be careful, and come back in under two hours. Understood?"

The two men nodded sharply and left. "Now, you kids, get to your common room. No sidetracking, understood?" The old professor ordered sternly. They all nodded and began to leave the Great Hall for their common rooms. McGonagall went along with Luna and Pippa to the infirmary.

"Ms. Lovegood, go to the Ravenclaw common room. Professor Flitwick should be there. You needn't worry about the other students, Severus and Pitchiner will find them."

Luna nodded and quietly left the infirmary, still thinking hard. If Jack was out there, he was in trouble, no doubt. And those howls that she heard... werewolves? The Forbidden Forest was large and dark, she supposed that it was obvious there would be werewolves in the forest. But why were they so close to the school now? Had it ever happened before?

She was interrupted from her thoughts by a whisper of, "Psst! Luna!"

The Ravenclaw looked around, but saw no one there. "Over here!" The hushed voice insisted.

Luna followed the direction of the voice, looking alarmed but pleased when Harry swept some sort of cloak away, revealing Harry and Neville. "Oh, I was wondering when you were going to try and sneak out," she said serenely, making the other boy smile sheepishly. "Ron and Hermione coming?"

"No, I didn't let them know. Not after... well, last time we ran into a werewolf." Harry grimaced. "I just hope they don't catch on and follow."

"It's going to be a bit of a tight fit, but get under the cloak," Neville said quietly.

Luna moved beside Harry and Neville, the three of them squished together, and the clock was swept over the three of them, obscuring them from sight.

The walk to the front door was slow and treacherous, but they saw no sign of Filch and so assumed it was safe enough for them to slip out. Soon, they were out of the castle and walking down to forest beyond Hagrid's cabin. If Jack and those boys had been missing for the whole day, he had to have been deep in the forest. It might take a while to find him. And they would have to be careful, with the other professors out in search of them.

Once they made it into the forest, Harry removed the cloak so that they had a bit more breathing room. "Well!" Neville laughed nervously and looked around. "This is going to be cheery."

"We can sing to pass the time." Luna offered.

Harry quickly shook his head. "Next time we go on a hunt in the Forbidden Forest, sure."

Luna hummed something in satisfaction. "So, which way do we go?" she asked.

"Uh... straight ahead, I guess."

Luna began to think that this wasn't very well thought out at all, but nodded and started walking straight ahead, Neville and Harry beside her. Yes, this was a rather foolish plan. But they were going to do it anyway. Find Jack and bring him back.

* * *

Pitch didn't like Snape much at all, and he wasn't too keen to go on a rescue mission with him either. But it was for the greater good, he supposed: the greater good being finding Jack and the other students and bringing them back to the castle. Still, he couldn't help an annoyed sigh leave him as he trekked through the forest, wand alight.

He was trying to sense something, anything - he could sense the fear of Pippa back at the castle, jumbled up and hectic, the fear of the students, not knowing what was going on, and for once, he was not happy that it was there. These children shouldn't have to go through this. Not that he cared about them or anything, but it seemed unnecessarily cruel.

Hogwarts, safe? Safe his ass. Especially not in the last six years, ever since Harry Potter arrived. He held in a bit of a chuckle and shook his head. He and his friends were always getting into trouble. Just because he was an immortal spirit with no interest in humans and their petty world didn't mean he didn't like reading the newspaper every now and then. But he did find the magic world rather fascinating. Otherwise, Earth really would be a dull place without it.

Snape bent down to retrieve something his foot had caught on, and he held up a wand for Pitch to see. The Nightmare King grabbed it, turning it over in his fingers a few time with a mild frown, the closest expression of concern he had. "This is Jack's," he said.

"I figured that much," Snape said dryly. "Take a closer look."

Pitch rolled his eyes but heeded the instructions. Shining his own wand light on it, his eyes narrowed. The wood was singed, smeared with dark, dried blood. At least Jack had sense enough to abandon it, or at least lose it. Whichever had happened first. The wand carried an obviously powerful curse, and he was surprised there were no little bits of flesh clinging to it. But he supposed that was better.

"Frost must have a lot of enemies. That wand was cursed to burn the user and drain their magic from them." No wonder he always looked so tired after using it, thought Pitch.

"Enemies?" he said to himself with a bit of an amused smile. "I suppose so. I hope the other students had enough wit to at least keep their wands on them. Those weren't dog howls we heard earlier." Oh, Pitch knew just watch kind of howls they were. He glared up at the offending beams of the moon. Why couldn't the damned man leave them be? Or at least leave Jack be. Who knows what the boy was suffering through right now.

He sighed and after a long silence finally said, "I think we should split up to cover more ground."

Snape scoffed beside him. "You just don't want to spend any more time than you have to being around me."

"That too," Pitch nodded.

Snape rolled his eyes and muttered something indistinct, but the two split off into different directions. Pitch didn't trust Snape at all, and he didn't want to have the man watching his back while he was in a place like the Forbidden Forest.

Pitch started a bit when he heard another howl and he gripped his wand tighter. He was obviously getting closer. He wanted to get this over with. All this anxiety - not that he was worried for the stupid brat or anything - was not healthy. "Jack!" he called out in the futile hopes of getting a vocal response from wherever the boy was. "Quit playing games. It's late, I could be terrorizing children with nightmares - or at the very least, sleeping."

A rustle came from a bush beside him and he stiffened. He sighed, pointing his wand at the bush. "I'm not afraid to hex you if you don't come out."

And to his surprise, it wasn't Jack that stepped out of the bush. It was three students. "Oh - really?" He scoffed at them. "_Really_? Was it _really_ necessary for you three to leave the castle at this time of night and decide to wander around in the Forbidden Forest? Or are you all naturally thick-headed?"

"A little bit of both, probably," Neville muttered, shrugging his shoulders.

Harry smiled nervously. "Sorry, professor. Won't happen again."

"You're damned right it won't," Pitch grumbled. "You three will get your own punishment when you get back the castle. For now, you three get behind me, and stay there. Got it?" The three students nodded sharply, following the professor's instructions, while Pitch grumbled to himself about disobedient children who needed to mind their own business in matters not concerning them, and how he was not going to be responsible for any injuries that they might suffer on this little expedition.

"That went well," Luna commented happily, not bothering to keep her voice down so that Pitch wouldn't hear.

"Yeah," Neville replied dryly. "But at least we didn't run into Snape."

Harry simply nodded in agreement with that, a little shudder at the thought. "Well, it's not like our plan was well-thought out, either." He quietly regretted not bringing the Marauder's Map with him, but it was too late to turn back and get it.

"Oh no," Luna disagreed with a sweet tone, "it was brilliant." Harry's eyebrows shot up. Had Luna just used... sarcasm? That was a strange sight. "Jack taught me how to be sarcastic," she added with a smile, as if reading his thoughts. The boy stifled a bit of a laugh and nodded.

Another long howl cut through the silent air and the four of them tensed. More howls, followed by a low growl close by. Pitch let one hand drop to his side, silently conjuring up Nightmare sand, ready to defend the students if it came to that. Thick branches snapped, leaves rustled. He pointed his wand at the source of the noise, where something was rapidly approaching.

Out from behind a thick, oak tree, emerged a slim figure, standing unnaturally on two legs. It was an animal. The thing had a long snout, eyes glowing eerily in the moonlight, claws defined even more by the shadows the dim light cast upon it. Harry's stomach churned. He recognized when Professor Lupin had turned into a werewolf a few years ago. But this was not Professor Lupin, and Sirius wasn't here to help divert it away. But lucky for him, the Boogeyman was willing to defend them for tonight.

Pitch spread one arm out to push the children back behind him. He growled at the creature, whom, when acknowledged, let out a deep growl of its own, creeping towards them. In Pitch's free hand, a dark blade began to form. He could only strike when it was close enough, at exactly the right moment. The werewolf roared and leaped towards them; Pitch raised his sword-

-and another figure came shooting out from the trees, knocking into the werewolf and pushing it down the path away from them. For a few seconds, the four of them stood still, listening to the harsh breaths of the person, and the werewolf grunting.

Harry raised his wand, trying to think of a spell, something - but Pitch gripped his wrist tightly before he could enact on the thought. Blade still raised, he breathed in slowly. It felt like one of his old days as a general. The stranger that tackled the werewolf uttered a harsh cry and the three students stumbled back a few steps, hearing the sounds of something cracking loudly, along with the snapping of the werewolf's jaw.

Pitch yelled and ran forward, sinking his blade into the thing's back. It twitched violently and roared. Pitch drove it in deeper, shoving the animal off of the person writhing beneath it. The animal twitched again, but did not stir. The three students stood still, beside themselves in shock, while the professor panted, trying to regain his breath. He grabbed his lighted wand and aimed it at the one on the ground. All it revealed was how badly injured the student was.

Luna, finally able to recover from some of the initial shock, calmly walked over to the one on the ground. The figure gasped out something unintelligible. Luna touched the boy's hand and he gripped it tightly. She flinched at the feeling of blood staining her hand from the other, but did not pull away. "We have to get him back to the castle," she said quietly. "How many more people are out here?"

"Two," Pitch replied. "And I don't know if they're dead or alive."

* * *

_Jack was thrown into a room that was unfamiliar. Or at least, he had the idea that he was present there. In all actuality, his body was elsewhere. But the moon commandeered his mind and steered him into another vision. He was standing in an unfamiliar house. Everything was blurred, and he couldn't make out definite shapes. But he could hear the people, whoever they were, talking. It took him a few seconds to pick up the words._

_"You have a little... extra task to do, Draco."_

_Draco? He tried to focus, and sure enough, he saw the boy in front of him, his pale features distinct only for a few moments before they returned to a watery blur. Everything turned grainy and Jack winced. Whatever was keeping him in this vision - the Moon, in this case - could not hold him here for long. He was not allowed to, and usually did not, tamper with mortals, and their memories. It was something subject to Toothiana only, but even she could not do this._

_But Jack needed to know, he needed to show him. He had to know, because though the Moon did not speak with Jack, there was so much he could show to him, had to show to him._

_"The Crystal Agony."_

_"Find it, find the staff. It shouldn't be hard. It's the key, Draco... understand?"_

_Jack struggled to focus on the words, but he was feeling some sort of strange pain, and it was pulling him out of the vision. The Moon was full, strong on this night, and lent him the power for him to shove the pain away and continue watching, albeit unwillingly._

_"His wand."_

_What about his wand? Another riddle, another question without an answer. Damn whoever was showing him this. He already knew about his wand. He stopped using it for a reason. Well, sort of._

_But the malevolent forces were harnessing the power of the Moon -_

Jack was snapped out of the vision by pain. Blinding, burning pain. He did the only thing he could think of - when he finally found his voice, he screamed. Teeth, and claws tearing and ripping at his flesh, pulling him apart, rendering him into nothing but a mass of mangled flesh and blood. He managed a sob and tried to push whatever it was off of him. The teeth slammed down again and he resumed screaming and writhing.

He saw a flash of gold, a glint of silver in the air. Then, remembering Sandy, he saw the dark arrow sailing towards the thing on top of him. It hit its target dead-on. The werewolf let out a raspy howl and turned to face its attacker, claws on its feet digging into Jack's chest to keep its prey on the ground. His breath hitched and he threatened to fall unconscious once more.

Flashes of light, the shouting of spells - other students? He recognized them. Luna. Neville. Harry. If Jack had been able to laugh, he would have done so. The pain stopped him, constricting his voice and closing up his throat. Tighter, tighter, tighter until he couldn't breathe. He gasped for breath, even as the creature was pushed off of him, fur matted with blood.

Pitch. He could see Pitch clearly now, running over to his side in worry. Huh. That was strange. He looked genuinely worried. Jack wondered why he found that so funny. Everything just seemed really funny right now. He managed a soft laugh, though it came out like a raspy cough while Pitch tried to look at the extent of his injuries.

Jack felt his breath threaten to leave him when he realized just how much all of this hurt. His hands tore at the ground for something to hold onto, anything. He wanted his staff or the wind for a familiar sense of comfort. He gasped and choked, trying to get his voice to work. One of the figures walked over, and Jack felt his hair being smoothed back as the person tried to quiet him, while Pitch unbuttoned the torn and bloody shirt to get a look at Jack's wound. It hurt. Hurt like the burn on his hand, like the throbbing in his ankle, like the fire in his chest. He couldn't take it anymore.

"St-stop- Pitch, please -"

He feebly kicked his uninjured foot at the ground, unable to scream. He felt bony fingers cupping his cheek, and Pitch tilted Jack's head to look at him.

Everything in the man's gaze seemed to calm Jack a little. He didn't need to say any words. Neither of them did. Pitch simply gave him a firm nod. _Calm down. Don't be afraid. Everything's going to be fine. _It was probably said with a few more choice comments, but he'd take what he could get.

Slowly, Jack's head fell back against the ground again. More footsteps approached, and there was distant yelling. He did not bother to decipher it. And finally, with one last image of the moon peeking down at him through the thick canopy of trees, he smiled as the darkness claimed him.


	13. Telling Secrets, Keeping Secrets

**A/N: **_Oh man, I'm really sorry for not posting this sooner. Real life caught up to me, and... well, there's some complicate stuff going on at the moment. So yeah. Apology because this chapter is posted late and is a little shorter than normal. I'mnot entirely pleased with how it turned out, but that's being a writer, I guess. _

_Thanks so much for all the support and comments, guys! I really appreciate it :D And we've almost hit 200 reviews, gosh! I can't believe it!_

_Enjoy~_

* * *

Warm.

Jack felt warm.

Strangely, the thought was not troubling. In fact it was comforting to him.

It wasn't an uncomfortable warm, such as getting too close to the equator, or becoming too curious towards fire. No, the warmth was gentle. He had never felt such a warmth, he was sure.

Whatever he was laying on, it was definitely soft. A bed. It reminded him of the North Pole, of the bed in the room that North offered to him soon after the events with Pitch.

After a few minutes, he became aware of the soreness of his limbs. His shoulder hurt the worst. But his wrist was damn close to it. He was too afraid to move, and didn't want to open his eyes to whatever reality that might shatter this blissful illusion.

Eyes still closed, he tried to move his hand. That simple action caused a spike of pain in his body and he winced, gritting his teeth. Whatever happened to his hand, it burned, burned worse than almost anything. He wanted to open his eyes and see where he was, but his eyelids felt so heavy.

He tried to move again, only with the same results. He let out a quiet noise of pain, his head falling back onto the pillow after a failed attempt to sit up. He could have sworn he heard footsteps coming towards him, but maybe it was a part of the fantasy. Still unable to move anything and a few moments later, he found himself slipping back into a calming sleep.

For however long a time, Jack slipped in and out of actuality. Most of the time, he felt that same warmth. Sometimes it became unbearable, and all he could do was wait for someone to come and find him, or fall back asleep. Other times, he felt a cold worse than the familiar bone-chilling he was accustomed to.

Visions and dreams swam past his eyes and he couldn't make sense of most of them. He didn't want to, despite someone's encouraging voice telling him he had to. The voice was familiar except he couldn't make out the words. But he always thought he heard someone saying his name. Calling for him and pleading for him to wake up.

"Jack?"

When Jack finally woke up again, he did not feel dizzy. The warmth was gone, and cold settled into his body. It was reassuring and familiar. Most of the pain he once felt was gone, but he felt his shoulder throbbing.

With all the strength he had, the boy forced his eyes to open.

Light flooded his view and he shielded his eyes, cringing.

The light began to dull after a moment and he began to get used to his surroundings. He was in a small bed, a curtain hanging up over it and shielding him from view. It took a few moments, but he finally realized where he was.

The Hospital Wing.

But why...?

He looked down at his bare chest, covered in bandages. In fact, a lot of his body seemed to be covered in bandages. He rubbed the bandages on his shoulder, frowning. Why, though? He remembered getting up for class as normal... Pippa needed his help... some kids in the forest...

Jack suddenly felt sick, remembering everything that happened. The scent of blood seemed to waft in the air and he gulped for air, trying to get freshness into his lungs. He coughed and sputtered as he did, covering his mouth.

He heard the curtain by the bed being drawn back. A hand was placed on his back, gently easing and supporting him back down onto the bed. He shifted onto his side to avoid laying on his bad shoulder. The person behind him laughed. "You look awful."

Jack let out a long groan. "Pitch."

Pitch shrugged his shoulders. "What?"

"Just... go away!"

He scoffed in reply. "Don't be such a child, Jack. I've been watching over you for quite a while. Trust me, I'm leaving as soon as I can."

Pitch's words caught him by surprise. He shifted into a sitting position, grimacing as he jostled his injuries. "How long... how long have I been out?"

"About a week,"

Jack blanched and what little color he had in his cheeks left. "A-a week? Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm quite serious," Pitch frowned. "It's nothing to joke about. You sustained fatal injuries." He crossed his arms and sat down on a chair next to the bed, letting his head fall back with a sigh. "For the record, you were attacked by a bear. A dangerous, demonic bear."

The boy's brow furrowed in confusion. "But it was-"

"We're sticking with demon bear, thank you very much. It's more plausible than the... other option. And honestly, how many people would believe a kid could come out of an attack from a werewolf virtually unharmed?"

"I dunno, I feel pretty damn harmed."

The Nightmare King rolled his eyes. "Or avoid being turned into a werewolf."

Jack placed his hands in his lap, mulling over that thought. "I'm... not going to turn into a werewolf, right?" He looked so hesitant, even scared, that it made Pitch want to laugh. Or cry. He wasn't sure which.

"Oh, it depends. Don't worry, we'll cart you off to the dungeon if you do. Can't have you feasting on the flesh of innocent children, now can we? I can throw you some nice, raw steaks."

"Pitch, that's not funny!" He looked so genuinely worried. Pitch stifled a laugh, clearing his throat.

"Yes, it is funny. It's quite hilarious. But I doubt that will happen. You have the blood of the Moon, Jack. That's probably the reason... you unintentionally beckoned it to you. That's why you stay out of the forest, numbskull."

"Well, sooorrryyy," he groaned out the last word, rolling his eyes. "It's not my fault. Pippa said there were some kids who went off and I just - I wanted to help." His gaze faltered. "Are they okay? Pippa, and... the other two?"

"No," Pitch said, his voice hard to read. "One of them is dead. The other, well, he's suffered a werewolf bite. I think you can connect the dots."

Jack held his head in his hands.

"It's not your fault, Jack. There was nothing you could have done."

"I could have... could have gotten there sooner..."

"And risk getting yourself killed, yes." His gaze hardened and he continued, "You barely got out of this alive, Jack. There's someone in this castle that wants you dead." Pitch stood up. "So, with that happy note, you'll be pleased to know that I'm resuming your training. If you get separated from your staff again with no way to fight, well - you're helpless."

Pitch turned to leave. "Hey, Pitch?" Jack said quietly.

He paused at the doorway. "What?"

"My wand..." He traced his fingers over the burn on his hand with a shaky breath. "What... why did it-?"

"That's for another time, Jack. Now, if you'll excuse me." He stopped before leaving again, looking back at him with his lips twitching up into a smile. "You may have some visitors dropping by later, just so you know. Your friends missed you."

The door closed, leaving Jack alone on his bed. He supposed whenever the nurse got back she would be checking up on him. Though, he didn't really want to deal with it right now. He rolled over onto his good side again, staring at his burned wrist until he finally fell back asleep.

* * *

"Will you stop that?" Draco demanded.

Pansy pouted. Her icy unicorn figurine was currently charmed into doing little flips on the table. "Oh, quit sulking. Just let me have a bit of fun, will you?"

"No fun allowed with Mr. Money pants," drawled Blaise, suppressing a smirk.

The blond muttered several indistinct curses under his breath at them. Pansy sat up a bit straighter in her seat, putting the figurine away and resuming the uninterested poking of her food. "Come on, it's really no use moping. It can't be much longer now, can it...?"

"A week is plenty long," Blaise noted with a frown.

She crossed her arms with a moody look, while Draco did not move his head up from its spot on the table. "Draco, you should really get some sleep." she said quietly, tapping his shoulder.

"I'm not tired."

"You damned liar. Go to bed, right now-" Pansy was cut off as a gust of cold air whooshed past her, a ghost passing directly over her head in a transparent blur. She frowned a little. That was strange.

She yanked Draco up by his arm, causing the boy to yelp. "Let me go!"

"No," she said. "Come on, let's go."

"Where-" he started to say as they walked away from the Slytherin table. Blaise got up and followed them, not having much of an appetite.

"Have you lost your mind, Pansy?" sighed Blaise.

"No! Just shut up and follow me!"

Both boys rolled their eyes, much used to this by now. They allowed Pansy to lead them to the Hospital Wing, but Draco groaned. "Pansy, he's not-"

"Yes, he is!" she insisted. "Come on, there's no harm in checking anyway!"

She did not know the guilt Draco felt every time he just looked at Jack now. He couldn't handle it, knowing what had happened, and how he had caused it. But he swallowed all that down and sighed, pretending to be annoyed. "Merlin's beard, fine."

The three of them entered the room, rather abruptly, startling the occupants at Jack's bed. Around the Slytherin boy's bedside sat Neville, Luna, and Harry. And Jack was seated up in his bed, looking weak, but happy. He grinned at the three of them. "Hey, guys!"

Luna looked back to the three Slytherins and gave them a small wave in greeting. Neville an Harry nodded, acknowledging their presence. "You're awake!" Pansy said with a small grin of relief. "We almost thought you were never going to wake up."

"Heh, it's not like it could keep me down for long," he replied with a laugh.

Therefore, they all sat together –albeit a bit awkwardly—and talked for a while. Harry couldn't help noticing the look on Draco's face. He definitely looked like he wished to be somewhere else. In fact, he looked… guilty? He tried to shake off whatever deductions he was making for as long as he could.

Eventually, they all began to leave. Jack watched Harry go, walking fast. Something must be on his mind, though Jack wasn't sure what. Then Draco, Blaise, and Pansy. Then...

"Hey, guys?" he called to Neville and Luna.

They turned around. "Yes?" said Luna.

Jack swallowed nervously, and let out a slow sigh. "You know it... it wasn't really a bear that attacked me."

Neville nodded, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, we kind of got that figured out. I just don't know why you're not..." He made a nervous gesture with his hands and Jack nodded in understanding. "Why you're not a werewolf, or... or dead."

"To be honest you should have died from those wounds," added Luna. "Of course, we're gla you didn't. But it's just unusual." She smiled a little. "You want to tell us about it?"

Jack laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair. "It's kind of a long story... Really long, actually. It could take three hundred years just for me to say it all."

Neville smiled as well. "We'll listen as long as you need us to."

Jack's eyes began to sting with tears but he rubbed them away, nodding at them both with a little smile. "Then get comfortable, you're gonna be here a while..."

* * *

Harry departed from Neville and Luna in the Hospital Wing and, with his cloak and the Maurauder's Map, trailed after Draco. He was going to get his suspicions either confirmed or rebuffed. He followed him quietly, finally making himself known before Draco could get to the hall where the Room of Requirement was.

He pulled off the cloak and stowed both it and the map in his robe pockets. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Draco whirled around to see Harry, and his face contorted in anger. "What do you want, Potter? Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"It was you," Harry repeated, clenching his fist. "You sent those kids into the forest so Jack would go after them."

The blond scoffed, but he was looking more and more panicked the more Harry spoke. "Got anything to prove it? Or do you just enjoy stalking people and making false accusations towards them?"

"Don't lie to me!" Harry yelled, voice rising in anger. "You selfish bastard. I hope it was worth it! Hope your Dark Lord is happy! That you tried to kill my friends and got someone else killed in the process!"

Draco whipped out his wand, and though his hand was shaking, he pointed it at Harry with a livid look. "You better keep your mouth shut, Potter. If you know what's good for you."

Harry pulled out his wand as well. "Why? Gonna kill me, Draco?" he taunted, starting to become angry beyond reason.

Before either of them could start sending curses at each other darkness enveloped the corridor. They both looked around in surprise, trying to see what had caused it. The darkness faded away and Professor Black stood between them. "Put your wands away," he said in a calm, but threatening, voice. "Now."

The two students reluctantly obeyed. He looked between the two of them with a mix of annoyance and concern. "Draco, go back to your dormitories. Professor Snape would like a chat with you. And Harry, you come with me."

Harry silently cursed Draco in anger as he followed Pitch, and was even angrier at himself for letting him get away. They arrived in an empty classroom and Pitch sat at his desk with a heavy sigh. "Sit down, please."

He did so. Pitch looked up form his desk. "Is there a particular reason that you want to pick fights with other students?"

"No, sir. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on around here. First Katie was curse, then Ron was poisoned, and now Jack's been attacked. A student is dead."

"I'm well aware of that," Pitch said. "But you need to leave these things to the headmaster."

"With all due respect, sir, Professor Dumbleore is barely around anymore. We can't just let this go by unpunished-"

"Are you the authority in the castle, Potter?" Pitch asked with a vicious sneer. "There are some things that you need to let lie, because even if you try, you can't save everyone. Don't think you can, or you'll learn otherwise the hard way. And it won't be pretty, because _I_ learned it that way."

Harry fell silent and the other took a moment to regain his composure. "Just don't go picking fights, alright? Leave Draco be, or I'll report you to Professor McGonagall."

Harry nodded. "Alright, now go." The boy started to leave and Pitch spoke again, "And if you do happen to get into the room, try finding something of mine, will you?

(_Meanwhile, a little later..._)

Jack was lying on his bed, feeling almost happier than he ever had in his three hundred plus years of life. Neville and Luna had left after a long-winded explanation, and he was content with laying on his bed and just thinking over anything and everything that made him happy.

Even his injuries couldn't keep his mood down, now. He wanted to go do something - anything was better than sitting here for such a long time.

A sudden flash of pain in his wrist made him double over and he gasped suddenly. He stared at it as it seemed to darken; blood seeped from it and he couldn't seem to find his voice. But just as it did, black sand began to flow from the wound. It coated over the wound, the blood dripping down, and dispersed.

Jack stared at his wrist for a long time, his whole body shaking. There was no mistaking that was Nightmare sand. If he barely escaped that attack with his life, then...

_Then what the hell did Pitch do to save me?_


	14. A Deadness in his Heart

**A/N:** _I'm sooooo sorry for another late update ;_; But there's lots of explanation in this chapter, so I hope that kind of makes up for it! (This story will actually be over in a few chapters... well, part one, anyway (WINKS LOUDLY)). Thank you all so much for your encouragement and kind words in your reviews. And thank you most of all for continuing to read my story even if updates have been a bit scattered as of late._

_Also, for any of my tumblr followers (my tumblr is wingsupb*tchestakenoprisoners . tumblr . com), do you want me to post these on tumblr as well? Tell me what you think in a review._

_And without further ado, enjoy~_

* * *

"Not now, Baby Tooth!" Jack hissed at the fairy worriedly circling his head as he tried to get himself out of bed. It was still a little difficult with his injuries and Baby Tooth wanted him to stay in bed and rest because he'd been through such a terrible ordeal.

But Jack didn't care. He had to see Pitch.

His hand and wrist were still throbbing a little but he supposed that was more from the nightmare sand than anything else. He pushed himself to his feet and grabbed his staff.

Almost immediately when he tried taking his first step, his legs buckled underneath him and he collapsed with a yelp.

"Augh… damn it!"

A moment later, Madam Pomfrey was rushing from her office and ushering him to bed. "You aren't in any condition to be moving around, Mr. Frost!"

"B-but…" he weakly protested, trying to will his body to move the way he wanted it to. He gave up after he was pushed down into bed again and punched the mattress beneath him with a frown. He had to get Pitch to get his shadowy ass over here now because Jack wanted /answers/. He looked over to Baby Tooth, who was perched on top of his staff, chirping softly. She seemed to know what he was thinking. He simply nodded to her and she flew off.

Jack waited patiently for Baby Tooth to return, and watched Madam Pomfrey leave to attend some other business, warning him to stay put. He decided that would be wisest and, not wanting to incite the nurse's motherly anger, he stayed put.

Not too long later, Pitch was entering the Hospital Wing, looking irritated as Baby Tooth squeaked furiously and pecked him wherever her pointy beak could reach. "I'll not hesitate to cook you, you little nuisance," he threatened lowly and Baby Tooth flew into the safety of Jack's open palm. He set the fairy next to him on the bed and crossed his arms, glaring at Pitch, who did the same. "Did you just call me to have a glaring match? Or fluff your pillow?"

"What," he said tersely, raising his wrist and exposing the wound traced with black sand, "did you do."

"Ah, that," To his surprise, Pitch's lips quirked into a bit of a smile, before falling into a rather flat expression. "What about it?"

"What _about_ it?" Jack snapped. "I want to know happened that you felt the need to inject me with this stuff."

"Well, it was that or you'd succumb to death from the 'bear'."

Jack could sense that was part of it, but Pitch was hiding something. Very well, he might add. He knew, because he hid a lot more than he would like to. "Tell me the whole truth."

Pitch let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't think you would very well like to hear the whole truth, Jack."

"Try me."

Silence muffled any other sounds that might have passed through the castle and after what seemed an eternity, Pitch took a chair and sat beside Jack's bed. Jack shifted so that he was facing the other and nodded expectantly. The man tapped his fingers against his knee, wondering just how to start and what to say.

"I did it because you were dying."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I know that. Big werewo- uh, bear. Attacking me. Couldn't really miss it."

Pitch shot him a glare and continued, "No. Not just from the attack."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"It's not really my place to tell you. I should leave it to Nightlight."

The name seemed a little familiar to Jack, prickling in the back fo his mind. "Who's Nightlight?"

Pitch scowled and said, "The personal bodyguard of MiM."

"What does he have to do with this?"

The Nightmare King let out another heavy sigh and tapped his foot against the ground thoughtfully. "Well, this is where things get a little complicated." He crossed his arms, pausing for a moment. "Nightlight has a special staff. Not unlike yours, he uses it to channel his powers. But it was recently stolen."

"What? By who? How could they steal it anyway?"

"How am I supposed to know? If I knew that, I would tell you, wouldn't I?" Jack frowned doubtfully. "Anyway. It was stolen, and I believe I know where it is. It's just the trick of getting there... but the staff is useless now. The crystal inside it is gone."

"Crystal?"

"Yes. The Crystal. It embodies a rather magnificent power. Whoever stole it certainly wants to cause some trouble. I'm surprised I didn't think of it myself," Pitch's lips curled into a little smirk. "As I said, the Crystal has been removed from the staff, and placed somewhere else."

"Where?" Jack asked, frustrated that he wasn't getting straight answers.

"It was put in your wand."

The boy had a very heavy feeling in his chest as he asked his next question, "How does this affect me?"

Pitch's smirk dropped off his lips. He had the same flat expression from earlier. Whether he was trying to conceal any emotions or just didn't care, Jack was unsure.

"The Crystal's magic is enough to kill immortals. Spirits. Guardians, even. Nightlight had been entrusted with that power because he was the only one fit to wield it. The only one who it would not corrupt. But it has been passed like a bargaining tool from different hands. It passed through the Dark Lord's as well, and onto someone else. That someone put it in your wand. _Most_ of this is educated guessing, but I believe I know who it is."

Jack swallowed, his throat suddenly dry and scratchy. "Who?" he asked softly. "No one I know could've..." But Pitch's expression told him other wise. He licked his lips and let out a shaky breath. "Was... was it..." He couldn't manage to finish his sentence.

"Draco."

His head slowly sunk forward against his knees, and the winter spirit huddled them to his chest. He couldn't make sense of any of this. How could Draco do this? He seemed... very distant as of late, but surely he hadn't gone so far as to try and... put the crystal in Jack's wand. And speaking of...

"What's it going to do to me?" he asked, voice thick with the strain of controlling his emotions. "I-I remember it burned me... but... is that it?"

Pitch shook his head solemnly. "Of course not. I'm..." He looked hesitant. "I'm almost sorry to tell you this. If you want to hear it at all, that is."

Slowly, Jack raised his head and hesitantly nodded. He needed to know, he had an obligation to know.

"Against or inside an immortal, a Guardian, it's a poison. It's going to kill you slowly, shutting down your body little by little until you can no longer function. If MiM deems it fit to save you, he may step in. My nightmares can keep it at bay, because I've fought against it myself before. But it's almost too dangerous to use it. That could... turn you into a Fearling, if it won't save you. Otherwise... you barely have a year left to live, Jack."

_It will be Agony for you._

A chill swept through him and he searched Pitch's face for any sign of this being a joke. That suffocating silence seeped into his bones again and he laughed nervously. It didn't help him feel any better. "What? How do you even-" Jack's voice cracked a little and he gripped the sheet tightly in his hand. Baby Tooth was nuzzling him, trying to reassure him.

"I know a lot more than I would sometimes like to, Jack."

There was more silence and Jack sunk back into his earlier position, head resting against his knees. His shoulders shook lightly and Baby Tooth squeaked in worry, flitting around him. Pitch tentatively placed a hand on the boy's bare shoulder. Jack tensed under the touch and mumbled, "Please. Just... just go away."

A sigh came from the Nightmare King. "Jack-"

"Go." His voice was thick again, and he fought not to cry. "Pitch, please, just go-"

Pitch did not wait any longer and quietly left, leaving the shaking boy alone in the Hospital Wing. But he gave him a few parting words, "I'm arranging a meeting with Nightlight." But after that he said nothing more. It would do worse to grieve him while he was in this state.

And Jack fought against the tears threatening to spill and drip down his cheeks, freezing upon impact, but they came forth. He fell asleep a little while later, the heavy burden he now knew placed upon his shoulders. And in those last moments when he fell asleep, he made a decision.

He'd confront Draco. He'd get all the answers, find out everything and why he was doing this.

And he, Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun, was going to save him.

* * *

Jack bounced back rather quickly than anyone expected after waking up, and it honestly scared Pitch. The boy seemed all too cheerful. Pitch, of course, was not the only one unnerved. Draco was as well, especially that Jack insisted on spending so much time with him now. He normally would not mind, but with all the things that were going on now, and what he had to do, he just wished that Jack would leave him alone.

One particular afternoon, he rushed off to the Room of Requirement, unaware of the boy following him. Crabbe and Goyle would be there soon to stand guard.

When Jack made it to the hall Draco disappeared down, he took a deep breath. "I need to know where Draco's going," he said quietly, to himself. "Please, I need to know and I need to help him..." He closed his eyes and walked down the corridor a few times, willing for a door to appear. When he opened his eyes next, he found himself rooted to the spot, and staring at a door straight ahead of him where one might expect ti to be.

He took a shaky breath and approached it. This was it.

He slowly turned the doorknob and entered the room, his staff at the ready. "Draco! I know you're in here!" He looked around the mounds of hundreds, even thousands of objects towering above him in crooked positions, threatening to fall. There was the sound of footsteps. He was trying to hide.

"Please, just come out!" he yelled, getting a little frustrated. HE was not going to let Draco get away from him this time. This was the only place where they could truly talk, without being overheard. "I want to talk, okay? I'm not here to hurt you or anything, I promise. I just wanna help. You... you have to believe in me."

Silence again. Footsteps echoed through the spacious room, coming closer and closer with each passing moment. A figure peeked out behind several crates and Draco was pointing his shaking hand holding his wand at Jack. Jack smiled, relieved to see his friend, even if he was pointing a wand at him.

"How did you get in here?" he asked, face set with a heavy frown, and he fought to keep his voice steady.

"I've been seeing how the room works. And I needed to find you and see where you were going all the time, so..." he trailed off and hefted his staff over his shoulder, approaching hesitantly. "I want to talk, Draco."

"What about?"

"You know why," Jack spoke softly, hesitantly. Even if he was angry, he wanted to know why... why Draco did this, and just why he had to. Why he was going to die because of this. "But I don't. And I want to find out. Even if... even if it takes forever, I want you to tell me. I'm your friend, Draco. I want to help you."

Draco let out a bitter laugh, stepping forward, eyes beginning to redden. "You're a damn fool. After all I've done, how can you still care enough to help me?"

"I've had a lot of time to think about what I should do or should've done, that's why." Jack sat down on the ground and looked at his friend expectantly. "Whenever you're ready, just start. I won't interrupt you, I'll just listen until you're finished."

There was a long stretch of silence. Jack still sat there, waiting patiently for Draco to lower his wand and move to his side. It seemed like hours, and it very well could have been, before the boy sat down next to him and started talking in a quiet voice.

Jack Frost was a Guardian, a Guardian of Fun. He had failed to save many children before Draco because he was invisible, unable. But now he finally had his chance to do something. To actually help someone.

Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun, was going to save Draco Malfoy if it killed him.


	15. Prodding Sensitive Subjects

**A/N: **_I've started to post these on Tumblr now, as well, so if you would like to read it there you can. Just go to my blog (wingsupb*tchestakenoprisoners) and into the link writing tag. Alright, enough self-promo._

_This story is going to be finished in about five chapters! Or rather, part 1 will be. I may be taking a hiatus during the summer, just to get everything for the sequel planned and set. And I will be posting a special preview of it on Tumblr (maybe , but not sure yet since it wouldn't count as an actual chapter... I may just post a link to the tumblr one orz)_

_And on that note, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT AND FAVORITES AND ALERTS AND REVIEWS AND COMMENTS I'M SERIOSULY GOING TO CRY_

_You guys are all lovely uwu /smooches_

_Enjoy the chapter~!_

* * *

"Don't you think Jack's acting… odd?"

Hermione turned to Ron, who shrugged, scribbling something out on his piece of parchment with a grimace. He was not having much luck on his essay at the moment and was trying to do as much as he could on his own before asking his friend for help. "I dunno. I'd be a little off if I got attacked by a bear, you know? Besides, he seems pretty cheerful."

"That's just it," said Hermione with a sigh, slumping in her chair, tapping her quill against the top of her parchment paper. "I mean… it's not like I don't want him to be happy, but he seems so exceedingly cheerful… especially considering the injuries that he suffered." She grimaced a little. "He's just so strange."

Ron sent her an annoyed glance. "When you're done fantasizing about him, can you help me with this?"

Trying not to flush red, Hermione rolled her eyes. "I have perfectly valid reasons to be suspicious. I'll just ask Harry when he gets back from Quidditch practice." She snatched Ron's essay and took one horrified glance at it before shuddering and turning back to him, "You're lucky I'm nice enough to be your friend."

Ron grinned sheepishly, turning pink. "Believe me, I know."

Harry came back from Quidditch practice a little while later and said a quick goodnight to Ginny, kissing her on the cheek, before sitting beside his friends. While Ron gagged at the action, Hermione smirked. Harry rolled his eyes at her and took out his homework. He hadn't had much time to do any of it, with all the practices for Quidditch he was scheduling, and his endeavors in trying to find out just what Draco was up to. He seemed a bit more light lately, and he often saw Draco and Jack lurking around together, talking in hushed whispers.

It both worried and intrigued him at the same time.

Before Harry could open his Potions book - which Hermione stared at with a scowl - she asked, "So, what exactly attacked those kids in the forest again?"

The bespectacled boy sighed. "Hermione, I told you already. It was a w- bear. A demon bear. It was damn terrifying."

He said all this with such a flippant tone it outraged Hermione. But she kept herself in check, taking a deep breath before approaching the subject again. "You're sure? I heard howls outside the castle. Bears don't howl like that."

"I'm sure, Hermione. It left me quite traumatized, so I'd appreciate if we stopped talking about it."

Hermione slapped the top of his head and Harry winced. "Don't you be sarcastic with me, Harry Potter!" Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ron grin, and shot him a glare before turning back to Hermione.

"Why d'you keep asking about it, anyway? It wasn't exactly rainbows and butterflies, you know."

The brunette tapped her fingers patiently against her armchair before she spoke again. "Luna said that it was a werewolf that attacked them."

There was a long stretch of silence. Harry was definitely glad that no one else was presently in the common room; otherwise there would have been a lot more questions and raised eyebrows. The silence was broken by Ron's slightly nervous laughter, which soon turned into full-out guffaws. Hermione gave him an incredulous stare until he quieted down again. "Hermione, I think you better let it go. I mean, Luna saying it was a werewolf and all… Nothing against her, but it's not like her word is always… accurate. 'Sides, what's it matter if it was a werewolf?"

"What matters," Hermione said, scanning her eyes over Ron's essay briefly to scratch out and rewrite a few grammatical errors, "is that Jack was almost killed. And if it was a werewolf that attacked him, he should've been taken from the school and put in St. Mungo's, if only for a little while. Werewolf attacks a very serious, Ron. I'm not sure what happened when Professor Lupin was bitten, but… but even if he wasn't in Hogwarts, it would've caused much more of a riot than this has!" She tapped her quill anxiously against Ron's paper, to the point that it sliced through it, and earned an indignant shout of protest from the red-head. "He's not normal. You don't get through attacks like this so easily. Katie was gone for so long…"

"Well, it's a good thing he recovered quickly," Harry said, and he had to admit that Hermione's words were causing a stir of curiosity within him. "isn't it?"

"Of course it is!" Hermione sighed in exasperation. "But the point is, it's unnatural for him to have recovered so quickly! Even in Wizarding standards!"

Ron and Harry exchanged glances. Hermione was really beginning to grab their attention - much to her delight and satisfaction.

"That's why you've been hanging around Parkinson so much?" Ron said, raising an eyebrow. "You've been fishing around for tidbits of information about him all year. You should start a fanclub, Hermione."

"Do you want your homework done or not?" she demanded, and Ron muttered out an apology. "But yes, I have been. And Professor Black's rather suspicious too."

"Everyone's suspicious to you," Harry said and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. If you don't want to help me, then you just focus on Dumbledores lessons and see if you can learn something from that. Ron, you can help me find out more about Jack."

He nearly choked. "What? D'you really expect me to help you?"

"Yes."

There was a short silence. Ron sighed heavily. "Fine."

Harry hid his smirk behind his book and looked up when Neville came in, walking over to the three of them. "Hey, Harry, Ron, Hermione." He handed a piece of paper to Harry. "Dumbledore said to give this to you. Wants to meet you in his office."

Harry exchanged glances with Ron and Hermione before nodding his thanks to Neville and leaving the Gryffindor common room. He suspected that Hermione might grill Neville for information as well, and the thought made him suppress a laugh. He made his way to Dumbleore's office and said the password, entering quickly.

He found the headmaster sitting at his desk, and tinkering with what looked like a pair of goggles. They had dark blue lenses and a fine gold rim around them. He was pointing his wand at them and muttering spells. Harry knocked on the door to get his attention, despite having already entered. Dumbledore looked up in surprise, as if forgetting why he summoned Harry, before he smiled. "Oh, good you came Harry, I was afraid you'd gone to bed."

"Not yet, sir. I still have loads of homework."

Dumbledore chuckled, setting the glasses aside on his desk. "In that case, I'll try to be brief."

And a short while later, Harry left Dumbledore's office with nervous excitement. Soon, he would be going out with Dumbledore to search for a Horcrux. It thrilled him, and it even scared him a little bit. But it meant they were one step closer to defeating Voldemort. And on step closer to freeing the Magic world from his clutches.

He made it back to the Gryffindor common room and was greeted by a rather strange sight.

Ron was asleep in his armchair and Hermione's chair was moved closer, her head resting against his shoulder and Ron's essay laying finished on her lap.

"Oh, get a bloody room." he muttered to himself, trying not to grin as he headed up to his dormitory.

.~*~.

A blast of nightmare sand flew at Jack and he barely rolled out of the way in time, panting and huffing, his shirt clinging to his sweaty chest. "Faster, Jack," drawled Pitch, tsking as he tapped the boy's staff absently against the ground.

"_You_ go faster..." Jack muttered, taking a few moments to catch his breath before Pitch sent another nightmare at him. He raised his hand and concentrated; a burst of blue light shot from his hand and froze the black mare, which exploded into silvery dust.

At the Slytherin's insistence, he wanted to spend more time training and fighting without his staff, especially now that he didn't have a wand anymore. He told Pitch not to go easy and the man seemed reluctant at first. But of course he was having fun by the end of it and making Jack work hard to keep up with all that he was sending his way.

"Are we done yet?" he asked, more than a little woozy from overexertion.

Pitch hummed thoughtfully and then tossed Jack his staff. "Fair enough." He chuckled as the boy fumbled with it for a moment before using it to support his weight. He glared at Pitch as he leaned his weight against it, before giving up and collapsing to the ground.

He stopped for a second and looked over at Jack. "You all right?"

"_Fine_!" he snapped back in a strained voice. "I'm just peachy."

"If you wanted to take a break you could have said so earlier," Pitch said and rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't push yourself so much."

Jack rolled over onto his side and muttered something incoherent in reply. Pitch's cat Adrian hopped down from his desk with a meow, trotting over to Jack's side and pawing at his robes. "Go away..." he moaned, trying to push the insistent animal in the other direction. Adrian settled on top of his head. The boy let out another frustrated groan.

"Oh, he likes you. Isn't that just precious?"

"Shut up! He's a vicious, cold-blooded killer!"

"I should hope so. He takes after me."

No response came from Jack. Pitch noticied his shoulders shaking and for a moment he thought Jack had started crying. But instead, Jack was laughing. Really laughing. Adrian hopped off the spirit's face and nudged the laughing boy with his paw, hoping he would stop so that he could get his spot back.

The laughter died down and Jack sat up, a few dazed giggles slipping out of him. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I should get to bed," he said. A thought came to mind and he looked over to Pitch. "Do the others... do they know..."

"They have an idea of sorts," Pitch said after a brief silence. "There's no use worrying about it right now. They'll end up finding out sooner or later, you know."

He sighed, absently petting Adrian with his hand as the cat licked his hand. "Yeah... I just..."

Pitch waited patiently. "You just what?"

Jack shook his head and stood up. "Never mind. Tell you another time." He started for the door and paused, looking back. "When did you say Nightlight was coming?"

"He said sometime in May, so that could be anytime, and very soon."

Jack nodded slowly again, the cogs and wheels in his head turning. "Right. Well, g'night Pitch."


	16. I Have a Bad Feeling

**A/N:** _I feel like this chapter is short again D: But I have a lot of stuff coming up since it's the end of the yea,r, and it's Hell week for the play I'm in. Otherwise I would've made this longer. But it's meant to be a shorter chapter, I guess. But the next one is gonna be eaction-packed and long (hopefully; if it is it'll take a little longer to get it up). I wanted to get this up so I'm not leaving you guys off with too many cliffhangers._

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed and alerted and favorited my story! I love you guys :"D There's only a few chapters left in this part before I got on a short hiatus... but not for long! (Hopefully ;u;)_

* * *

Jack set the book down and buried his face in his hands. "No. No, no, no, this is all wrong!"

Neville shrugged his shoulders. "It's just exams."

"But it's just pointless! I don't wanna do this…" He groaned and kept his face covered. He had never been to school, or taken a test in his whole life! Either of his lives, actually. He had preferred his parents use what money they had for Emma to go to school, so Jack had only been there a brief time, if at all. And of course, he was getting much, much better at reading and spelling and writing. But a magic exam? He had a few choice words to voice about that. "Stupid North…" he muttered dejectedly as Luna tried encouraging him to pick up the book and try again.

"Don't worry, it's easy once you get it. You might have a few Wrackspurts," she tapped the side of his head, "and that could be affecting how well you study."

Jack gave a little smile but even Luna's comment didn't cheer him up. "I'm sorry. I just have no idea how to do any of this… I mean, it's just like it's all left me suddenly. I don't know what to do."

Neville clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder and nodded encouragingly. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's not as hard as you think. We'll help you, okay?"

He sunk back into his chair and sighed, eventually nodding as he opened the Potions book. "'S not like I'm gonna be here next year anyway."

Luna raised en eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Neville, too, looked at him waiting for an explanation.

He avoided their gazes for as long as he could before finally speaking up. "Well, it's true! I don't really want to… Besides, I made a deal with North-"

"Santa, right?" Luna said in an undertone. Jack nodded.

"I made a deal with him that I'd stay for a year and then he would let me come back. It's for my own safety, I guess… but I still have a job, you know? Kinda hard to command winter when being in a castle for a little over a year." He noticed the sadness coming onto their faces and he shook his heads. "But I guess it all depends, y'know? If it's still not safe and North says so, I'll… I'll probably stay."

"Not to ruin your happiness or anything, but I don't think this is going to end anytime soon. It'll turn into full out war before that." Neville said quietly, a frown creasing his face.

The winter spirit nodded his head slightly in agreement. There was a heavy silence. Luna broke it, saying, "Come on, we can't let that keep us down forever, can we? Sure, war is a terrible thing. But if we don't carry on like normal… how will everyone else get along? There has to be some kind of normalcy. But until you get back to wherever you may reside, you have to study."

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "You're something else, Luna," he said with a laugh. He picked up the book again and decided that just for the sake of his friends, he would try. He had feeling he wouldn't be at Hogwarts for much longer anyway…

They stayed there for a while, studying. They helped Jack practice spells, and then they went down to Slughorn's for some extra brewing time, since Jack was having a bit of trouble with that as well. Jack checked the time. "Ah, crap…" he muttered, setting the book of instructions down. "Guys, I have to go. I have a lesson with Pi- Professor Black," he corrected himself frustratedly.

"All right," said Luna with a smile. "But hurry back when you're done, okay?"

He nodded, picking up his staff and walking out the door. As Neville cut some shabby roots, Luna gently took the knife from him and started to resize them appropriately. "Hey, Luna?"

"Yeah, Neville?"

Neville said, crossing his arms. "Do you… do you have a feeling that something bad is going to happen?"

Unexpectedly, a sad smile was found on Luna's face. "I'm glad I'm not the only one," she replied, "who has some uncertainty. But whatever happens, we have to trust him. Right?"

Slowly he nodded. "I guess so. I just… can't shake this feeling. Something terrible is going to happen… soon."

She put her hand gently on Neville's shoulder. "Don't let the Grigbills get to you, Neville. It'll pass." She added the roots into the bubbling mixture and said softly, "I hope so."

For a while, there was nothing but silence and the sound of the mixture bubbling. "Do we have any extra fake galleons?" Luna asked suddenly.

Neville thought for a moment. "Yeah, I might have one… I'd have to check, first." He gave her a curious look. "Why d'ya ask?"

"We need a way to get in touch with him in case he gets in trouble." she explained.

Neville nodded. "That's a good idea… I'll be right back, okay? I'm going to run to the Gryffindor tower." He dashed out of the room and left Luna alone with the festering potion. She began to stir it with a wooden ladle, humming thoughtfully to herself. There was a whoosh of cold air and Emma appeared beside her, peering into the cauldron. Luna smiled down at the little girl. "Hello, Emma."

Emma fumbled with pronouncing the word for a few moments before she finally said, "H-hi."

"You're getting better at talking, I see." she said cheerfully. "Y'know, my daddy knew a wizard who had his tongue cut out during the Grindelwald war long ago. It was probably before your time… Anyway, he grew his tongue back with this special spell. Only it turned out purple for some strange reason… Anyway,, that's beside the point. It's nice to see you again. You spend an awful lot of time in that tower.

Emma giggled in reply, her hair swinging as she shook her head in denial.

Luna waited for Neville and talked with Emma, taking pleasure in trying to teach the younger girl new words. But no matter how much she tried to push it away, the bad feeling kept building, gnawing at her stomach. And it was simply terrible.

* * *

On his way back from Gruffindor tower, Neville went to the classroom where Jack usually was practicing, only to find Ron and Hermione huddled outside the door. He watched them for a moment before he cleared his throat, "I hear the bathroom has more privacy."

Hermione spun around, looking mollified. Ron looked embarrassed, but was more amused by Hermione's expression. "Neville!" she admonished, smacking his arm as he fought not to laugh.

"Sorry, have you seen Jack? Looking for him."

"Oh, uh…" Hermione wiped her hands on her robes, an odd expression on her face. "He's in there," she said, pointing at the door. "But we might just want to leave for a little bit…"

"Why?" Neville asked, reaching for the door handle. Ron and Hermione made to stop him, but it was too late. A bolt of ice nearly knocked him over and he yelped, slamming the door shut. There was the sound of unintelligible cursing and swearing, then silence. "Come in!" Professor Black's voice called curtly. "Quit eavesdropping, you miserable-" There was the sound of a smack, and then a growl. "Come. In."

The three entered. Professor Black stood there with his arms crossed, looking irritated. A person who looked to be in his early adult years stood near Pitch's desk with the hint of a smile. Hermione couldn't help notice his white hair, similar to Jack's. But that wasn't the worst of it. Everywhere in the room was either covered with ice, strange black sand, or both. "Where's Jack?" Neville finally asked. Pitch pointed to the ceiling.

Jack was perched on one of the rafters, grinning sheepishly down at his friends. "Hey guys."

"How the hell did you even manage to get up there?" Ron asked, squinting.

Swinging his legs over the wooden beam and dropping down, he grinned. "The same way I got up!"

As Ron muttered about how nonsensical that was, Neville handed Jack the fake galleon. "Ooh! What's this?"

"It's a fake galleon. You can use it to communicate with everyone who has one."

"That's fun," Jack said, examining the coin with interest.

Hermione suddenly looked sharp at Neville. "Why do you think he'll need one, Neville?"

He shrugged. "Just thought it might be handy to have." He quickly left the room without another word. Hermione's eyes narrowed. and she made to go after him, no doubt wanting to interrogate the other Gryffindor. Ron sent Jack an imploring look, but he only chuckled and told him good luck. "Tell Harry I said hi!" he added.

With that, he closed the door and collapsed. "Yeesh!" he panted, trying to regain his breath. "Do you know how hard it is to act normal after an attack like that?"

"You're welcome," Pitch replied with a sneer.

Nightlight got up from his chair and went over to Jack' helping the other boy up and handing him his staff. "I think you'll be fine in a fight without it. In case you ever lose it."

"That's good," Jack nodded to himself and perched on top of Pitch's desk, despite the Nightmare king's protests. He swallowed heavily, before turning to look at both of them. "So, my plan. What do you think of it?"

"It's amiable," said Nightlight.

"It's foolish," said Pitch.

Jack sighed. He expected that sort of response. "Getting Draco out of here is the only way he'll be safe, Pitch. Whatever he's going to do - he still hasn't told me everything! - it's bad, and I need to get him out of it."

Silence. Pitch sighed heavily. "Fine. But after that, you're subject to the Guardians. You'll have to tell them about it."

"Just like you didn't tell them about the bear?"

He hissed irritatedly in reply. "Details. Now, Nightlight. I believe Jack has an appointment with Draco and he's going to go try and get your staff back." He pushed Jack to the door, who frowned at him in irritation.

"Bye, Nightlight!" he called as he left.

"Goodbye, Jackson." he replied. The door closed and he narrowed his eyes at Pitch. "I suppose you know what he is going to do?"

Pitch nodded, going back over to his desk. "Yes. And it's not going to work."

"Then what do you propose we do?" he asked softly. "There's only so much we can do for him, Pitch… you of all people should know that."

His face hardened and he nodded curtly. "Trust me, I know."

"What do you propose we do, then?"

Pitch told Nightlight his idea.

"It's very risky," he finally said, "and Jack is going to hate you, you know?"

"It's for the boy's own good."

Nightlight rolled his eyes. "You don't know that for sure, Pitch. You're not his-" He cut off at the look on Pitch's face. "I'm sorry. Come on, let's go. It can't be much longer now."

* * *

Harry stood at the edge of the cliff with Dumbledore, looking back with apprehension. "Come on Harry, not much farther now.

He nodded and obediently followed Dumbledore into the cave, though could not shake the overwhelming feeling of dread that plagued his mind the deeper they went.

Something bad was going to happen.

* * *

A shudder crawled up Jamie's spine and he dropped the plate he was holding. It shattered into pieces on the ground of the kitchen floor.

"Jamie, be careful!" his mother chidded lightly.

He blinked, as if snapped from a trance. "H-huh? Oh! Crap, sorry mom..." He quickly cleaned the glass up off the floor and shooed Abby away when the old greyhound tried poking at the pieces with her snout. "Kinda spaced out for a second, there."

"Just be more careful next time, okay honey?" She kissed his cheek and he looked away in embarrassment.

"Yeah, mom, got it."

"Alright," she said and grabbed her purse, "I'm off to the shop. I'll see if I can bring you guys home some flowers! I'll be back by seven."

"Alright mom, see you then." He waved goodbye as his mom shut the door and he heard her car drive off. He sat on the couch, a perplexed frown painted on his face. The door opened and Sophie rushed in a little while later, home from school.

He grinned when she ran over. "Hey, kiddo. How're ya doing?"

"I'm okay," she said, rocking on the balls of her heels anxiously.

Jamie frowned at the body movement. "Need to use the bathroom?"

Sophie stuck out her tongue and shook her head. "Nuh-uh... I'm scared. I think something's gonna happen but I don't know when. It's... it's like watching a scary movie," A few tears formed in her eyes and she whined. "I dunno what to do, Jamie!"

He frowned and picked her up, hugging her tight. "Hey, it's okay, Soph... you'll be okay... everything's gonna be fine..."

But a little voice in the back of his head told him otherwise.


	17. Primitive Betrayal

**A/N: I'm just warning you that in this chapter, shit gets real. **

**REAL, MAN.**

**On a side note, who's excited to go and see Epic this Friday? I can't wait to see it with all my friends!**

**Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts! Chapters will be longer and more consistent now that the play is over. Then again, I may be trying out for the summer play, so... OTL We'll see how that all goes. Thank you for all your continued support for my writing of this story, guys. And enjoy the chapter~!**

* * *

"I'm bored," sighed Pansy, looking over at Draco. He was resting in an armchair, head heavily supported by his hands. "Draco, we should go do something. Something fun before exams start."

"I don't have time for that," he replied curtly, tapping his fingers against the sofa's arm.

"You don't have time for anything," she rolled her eyes. "It's been so quiet lately. It's boring." Draco translated what he called Pansy-speak in his mind: "It's lonely because you're never around anymore and we don't go make fun of people and exams are in a few days so if you leave again to go do whatever it is you've been doing I'm going to kill you".

He'd have to find some way to sneak out of here.

Draco slowly got up out of his chair. "You're leaving again?" Pansy asked incredulously.

"I have something to do, in case you haven't noticed!" he snapped back. Pansy quieted down and glared back in reply.

She crossed his arms and looked away. "Fine, then. Go ahead and leave."

He sighed heavily and left the common room. Women were so annoying and confusing.

He left for the Room of Requirement. He may as well put in the last finishing touches now that the cabinet was almost ready. A sort of giddy, nervous excitement welled up in him as he made his way to the familiar corridor.

The white-blond student entered the room and went over to the Vanishing Cabinet through a familiar pathway of junk and millions of objects that were lying around. He grabbed a small locket and a long, black staff that were set by it. He put the locket in his robe and held onto the staff. He abandoned it a moment later, letting it sit on the ground from the way his hands impatiently twiddled together.

He heard the door behind him open but surprise did not register to him. He already knew who it was.

He clasped and unclasped his hands together as he opened up the cabinet, staring into it. He couldn't believe that he finally finished it. He spent so long trying to accomplish this, and now... now the moment he had dreamt and dreaded was finally here.

It was terrifying and exhilarating.

Draco paced back and forth in front of the vanishing cabinet, hands behind his back as he did. Tonight... tonight was the night. Harry Potter and Dumbledore were gone from the castle, off doing Merlin-knows-what. It didn't matter. He was ready for this. They wouldn't know what hit them. Jack was too foolish to agree to help him in this task, too foolish indeed.

His hand gripped the handle of the cabinet and he took a deep breath before releasing it once more. He carefully closed it. There was still a detail that he left out of his plan. One he had purposely neglected to tell Jack, but one that Snape knew very well. After this night, he would be leaving the castle back to his home which was currently being used as a base by the Dark Lord.

And Jack would be coming with him whether he liked it or not.

His hand gripped the cabinet door again and he slowly opened it, waiting. He heard noises. There were figures emerging and they were coming closer, closer, and closer with each passing second. He took a deep breath. There was no turning back now.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" A familiar voice behind him taunted.

Professor Black stood there with his arms crossed, looking at the boy with calm expectancy. Draco picked up the black handle that had once been Nightlight's staff and threw it at Pitch. "And?" he added, pressing on. Draco pulled a locket from his robe and tossed it at the man. Pitch regarded it with a sense of triumph before stowing it away in his own robe. "Now, what do I do to repay this pleasure?"

"You already know the answer," Draco said. He swallowed nervously, his hands shaking. "Bring him to the tower he's so fond of being around. That's where we'll be setting off the Mark. You just need to keep him there long enough for us to get there."

The Boogeyman chuckled and grinned. "Is that all?"

Draco nodded and said arrogantly, "It shouldn't be too hard. I thought I may as well try and keep it nice and simple for you."

"Watch who you talk to in that tone, Draco," Pitch replied coolly, turning to leave the Room of Requirement. He wondered briefly if he was going to regret this decision. He had got what he wanted. He had no other obligation to the Guardians. So why should he feel any remorse for what he was doing? Besides, he thought to himself as a grin spread across his face, it was much more fun to be the bad guy.

He left the Room of Requirement for his office, stowing the staff away in his shadows. It was early in the evening, but the sky was already dark. It was not much longer now.

But first, he had something to take care of.

Not a second later there was a knock at his door and Nightlight peeked his head in the doorway. "Pitch? Have you seen Jack?"

"Sorry, no. I was planning on looking for him, though. We have to act tonight, after all."

The white-haired spirit frowned slightly. "I thought we were waiting until exams were over... why such a sudden change of mind?"

Pitch shook his head as Nightlight walked in. "It would be more prudent to act now, Nightlight. There's something important tonight that I must take care of."

Nightlight raised an eyebrow. "How so?" he asked. "Why can't it wait?"

"If we want this plan to work at all, we have to do it tonight."

"But what about the other Guardians? This gives them no time to prepare. We were supposed to do this carefully, not spring it up at the last minute..." He crossed his arms and stepped boldly forward. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, well, Jack will be relocated somewhere else," Pitch replied calmly, stacking some papers littered messily across his desk.

The byo began to feel wary, feeling as though the room was growing smaller with the increasing tension and pressure beginning to build up. "What do you mean? With whom?"

"You don't need to worry about it," he replied nonchalantly, "just go back to the North Pole."

"Without knowing what's going on? You've got to be kidding me."

"You can never do as you're told, can you?" He tsked distastefully and narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry your head over this... go back and report that your Tsar's precious subject will certainly be taken care of."

As he turned on his heel, Nightlight caught a flash of light from the chain hanging around Pitch's neck. His eyes widened. "You..." he started slowly. "Where did you get that?"

"Oh, this?" He regarded the locket with a mix od a smirk and a fond smile. "It's a souvenir."

"You... you sided with them, didn't you? There's no other way you could have gotten that!" His voice rose and he stepped forward, stnading tall and defiant. "I won't let you do this. You promised, Pitch! To Toothiana and the rest of the Guardians!"

Pitch let out a dark laugh. "And how are you going to stop me from doing this? Without your precious staff, you're nothing. And it's useless without the crystal. Unless you want to rip the crystal out of Jack and try using it against me before it drives him over the edge..."

Nightlight wordlessly pulled a short blade from his belt; a shining blue dagger. Pitch's eyes narrowed. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be, huh?" He extended his hand and conjured black sand from the shadows at his feet to form into his choice weapon: a long, deadly scythe. "I hope you're feeling lucky, Nightlight. Because that's the only way you'll be able to win this."

"It'll take more than your shadows to beat me again." Nightlight replied as gis dagger glowed brighter and brighter within the room. They both charged at the same time and throughout the castle an explosion was heard throughout all the corridors.

* * *

Swinging from the rafter in the tower, Jack sighed heavily and glanced over at Emma. "I'm bored," he sighed. "There's nothing to do. It's so quiet today..." The skies had been a clear, dull gray, with clouds hanging overhead. It seemed to be threatening rain, but the sky had not poured out a single drop. It was instead darkening and foreboding.

"Read?" she suggested hopefully.

He shook his head. "Sorry, I gave the books back..."

He pulled the camera from his hoodie pocket and the photos that had been developed along with them. He idly thumbed through them, a little grin on his face. Exams were starting in just a few days and then he could go back to Santoff Claussen with the other Guardians. To say that Jack was excited at the prospect was an understatement.

But he couldn't believe how everything had gone by so fast. How much he had changed. With being seen by everyone, becoming... sort-of-allies with Pitch, and learning all of this. There was so much to think of that he'd done, he could have another three hundred years to himself and not be able to list it all.

"Not much longer now, Emma." he said. "I'll be going back... The year seemed to go by so fast. I'm gonna miss Luna and Neville, and Draco, and Harry... everyone, really. You too, of course." He turned on the wooden beam to face her, but she was gone. "Emma?" he asked softly. The silence felt lonely to him. He sighed and dropped down from the beam and landed on the ground, shoving his hands in his pockets. He could not help the foreboding he felt in him. A foreshadowing of events to come.

A pain started to grow in his chest and he winced, rubbing it idly. The pain increased and he stumbled to the door that led down the staircase, barely able to cry out as he toppled over and was engulfed in a vision.

_"What do you mean he's been attacked?" North cried. "And Hogwarts? It's impossible! Nothing can get through the defenses... Dumbledore wouldn't allow this to happen!_

_Bunnymund nodded. "It's true! I just got word of it... I don't know what the hell is happening or how or why, but North, we have to get over there. Sandy and Jack are both in danger!"_

_North wrung out his hands, pacing impatiently back and forth. "But _how_, Bunny, _how_ did this happen?"_

_The Pookah's eyes narrowed. "I have a few ideas about just who could be behind this."_

_The Guardian shook his head in disbelief. "You don't mean... but he was on our side!"_

_"You can't change him in just a year, North. We should have seen this coming."_

_There was a heavy silence and North let out a sigh. "Right... of course not. Get to the sleigh and send a message out to Dumbledore. Let us hope that he gets it in time."_

The scene shifted.

_"There's too many of them, Sandy!" Tooth cried, slashing her wings at another one of the dark horses being ridden by Death Eaters that were flying at them at a most rapid pace. She had no idea how they even managed to find his castle in the first place. The fact that they were riding Pitch's mares made it all the more confusing. He was on their side, wasn't he?_

_Sandy continued to slay the horses and turn them into gold creatures, which bucked off the offending wizards to fall through the sky. He shook his head, a question mark forming above it. He, too, had no idea where this all came from. He was only glad that he managed to get out a message and have help come so quickly, because he was being quickly overwhelmed._

_But still, they could not keep this up forever._

_"Look out!" Tooth cried as another horse charged forward at them. Sandy formed a golden shield around the two of them which the horse insistently butted into, trying to ram through the golden dome that surrounded them. It protected them, but now they could not see any of their surroundings._

_"What are we going to do, Sandy?" Tooth asked hopelessly as the dome began to collapse around them, turning int black sand when the Nightmares came in contact with it. He pushed her back and motioned to the sky around them._

_Tooth's feathers fluffed incredulously. "Leave? I can't let you fight them all on your own, Sandy!"_

_He gave her a small smile, _You underestimate me, you know.

_She bit her lip and glanced nerovusly at the advancing mares. Finally, she nodded and took off into the sky. As one of the men on the horses made to go after her, Sandy whipped them out of the sky. Oh, they were definitely underestimating the Sandman._

_A dark horse nickered viciously and bared its teeth intent on catching him off guard and charged towards him-_

Jack was brought back into reality as he tumbled down the staircase, banging his head into the wall. "Damn it!" he cursed aloud, cradling his injured head as the vision continued to repeat over and over again in his mind. He tried analyzing it, but none of it was making sense! Why would Pitch's nightmares be attacking Sandy? And who was being attacked?

Dread dropping into the put of his stomach, Jack forced himself to stand with the help of his staff and continued making his way down the staircase.

He bumped into someone before he could make it all the way down and hurriedly backed up at the sight. "Pitch?" he asked cautiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, actually," said Pitch.

"Is that so..." Jack said softly, barely managing his usual grin as he tried to remain casual.

Pitch raised an eyebrow. "Are you quite all right?" he inquired, stepping forward. Jack took a step back and Pitch copied the movement and pressed on towards him. "You aren't looking so well, Jack."

"I'm fine!" he replied quickly, turning his back and starting up the stairs at a faster pace. "I'm perfectly fine. How's Nightlight?"

"A little tied up at the moment," Pitch said with a shrug, "but he'll survive."

That definitely made Jack more suspiscious. He couldn't keep this up for long. He knew that Pitch was sensing his fear; relishing in it, even. "Where is he?"

"He went back to the North Pole."

"Really? I thought he was staying for a little while longer. He wanted to talk with Dumbledore, didn't he?"

"He had to leave."

Silence again. Jack tried to walk faster up to the top of the tower. A familiar cold air passed through him. "Emma!" he greeted gratefully as the ghost flew beside him. "I was wondering where you went." He was jogging at a moderate pace ahead of Pitch. It felt like he would never make it to the top of the staircase and that thought terrified him.

"Run," she whispered. "Jack, run. Not safe, Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack not safe, Jack run."

"I'm already on it," he whispered back.

He flew up into the rafters of the tower and the door burst open. Pitch looked up at him with a calm expression that barely masked his malevolence. "What do you think you're doing up there, Jack?"

"Staying safe," he replied. "I don't feel like talking to you right now."

The Boogeyman chuckled darkly. "Really? You think you can avoid this that easily?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I was kinda hoping for it, anyway."

Jack was about to reply, but a loud explosion made him jump and yell, losing his place on the wooden beam and falling to the ground. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Today was just not a good day for him!

A bright green light illuminated the sky as it took the form of a hissing, glaring snake. Jack heard a chorus of spells and explosions below him. He looked at Pitch with wide eyes. "What the hell is that?"

Pitch grinned. "It's called a new beginning. Shame that you won't be a part of it."

A shadow snagged around his ankle and the last thing Jack felt was a searing pain in his wrist before everything went black.

* * *

The world darkened around him and all Harry knew was the chill of the wind and the green glare of the Dark Mark as he flew back to the castle as fast as he could on a broom with Dumbledore. He landed in the Astronomy Tower and panted, out of breath. Before he even had a chance to move, footsteps started up the staircase and Dumbledore immobilized Harry with a single spell and threw his Invisibility Cloak over him.

Draco burst into the room with his wand pointed at Dumbledore as the old wizard's wand flew from his grasp.

He was forced to stay still and watch as he tried to talk Draco out of it and all that Harry could think of was the danger below and he was right and his friends were in danger oh why didn't he get here any sooner-

"Draco," A voice from the shadows hissed, "if you're not going to do it, let someone else take charge."

Out of the shadows, a familiar figure began to take place and soon he realized he was staring at Professor Black. But he was more interested at the figure in his arms. Jack was limp, asleep in the dark hold, a strangely peaceful expression on his face. The sort of peaceful dead look people had after being sent beyond life. Now he had one more reason to struggle vehemently against the spell binding him in place.

Dumbledore looked up and shook his head with a grimace - whether it was from pain or the current situation, Harry was unsure. It was likely both. "This was never supposed to happen... I thought that surely the King of Shadows would understand what must be done."

King of Shadows? "Well," Pitch said with the twitch of a smirk, "you should have known that I partner myself with whomever I feel fit to choose. And just because there is good in the world, nothing that has happened decides where I go."

"I should have known that this internship would take a nasty turn." Dumbledore sighed heavily and closed his eyes, old body aching and trembling.

"You and no one else." He scoffed and turned to Draco. "Are you going to do it or not?"

"Draco, don't listen to him. I can help you... I can help keep you and your family safe if you only would listen to me..."

Draco's wand hand was shaking terribly. Harry could see hesitation and finally, agonizingly slowly, he began to lower his wand and yes he could get out of this he could get them both out of this and then they would go after Professor Black-

The door burst open and Death Eaters swarmed in, taunting and jeering. Harry couldn't even look away as Snape walked through the door and he was trying so hard to lift the spell holding him in place and if he moved, if he was discovered, he was dead and there was nothing he could do to help-

"Severus... please..."

A flash of green light-

-and Dumbledore fell from the tower.

It was surreal, almost like a dream. Harry wanted to scream, but he couldn't even manage to find his voice, whether or not the spell still held him in place. The Death Eaters crowed with excitement and joy. Pitch looked neutral, as if he couldn't decide how to feel about the matter. His lips finally peaked into the smallest of grins as he shifted the weight of Jack's body in his arms. Draco looked stricken and afraid.

"Come," Snape said harshly and snagged Draco's wrist, "We must get out of the castle." He looked back at Pitch. "How do you intend to get by carrying him around?"

"He won't," a new voice said.

All eyes turned to the now-conscious Jack who looked straight up at Pitch before twisting out of his arms and punching him hard in the face, causing him to stumble back. Almost too easily, it seemed to Harry.

Jack stood tall and strong, his face bruised and blood running down his cheek from a huge gash in his forehead. He could only assume it was from earlier fighting before he was knocked out.

"I'm not letting you take me without a fight," he said, backing up from the approaching Death Eaters.

"And how'll ya manage that?" sneered a furious Fenrir Greyback.

Jack smirked. In one swift movement he jumped over the Death Eater's heads, pushing off on one of the wooden beams and chased out the door. Jack started running, running as fast as he could. The injuries on him burned but he continued, racing through the fight without so much as a word.

"After him!" snarled Snape as the Death Eaters clambered to follow. Pitch gave the room one more look, his eyes lingering where Harry stood still and invisibly, before disappearing into the shadows. There was only one thing that he could do now. The fight going on down on the floor below him still raged in his ears. He thought primarily of Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. He had to help them too.

Harry threw off the Cloak and stunned the last Death Eater before racing down the stairs of the tower after Jack.


	18. The Extinguished Light

**A/N:** _Part one's almost over. All will become clear in time, friends... *strange hand signs* xD Thanks to all those who reviewed and favorited and alerted! As always, you guys are the light of my life :"D I saw Epic and it was totally amazing! You all need to go see it, it's really worth it! And also, to those who are fans of William Joyce, his book "The Leaf Men" was a sort of basis for Epic; I almost burst into tears when I learned the main character's name._

_ As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated. And before you kill me there is a sort of ship in this chapter. It doesn't mean anything, but it could. It's very ambigiou, and I'm going to leave it up to your interpretation if it just makes you angry beyond belief to read it (no it has nothing to do with pitch and jack, sorry)._

_Enjoy~!_

* * *

Jack was stumbling over his own two feet and almost falling headfirst down the stairs; but with the pace he took and the urgency of how fast he needed to get away, it was something rather expected. His breath came in short, ragged puffs as he tore down the stairs.

Suddenly as he burst through the final stretch of the stairs, he felt energy pulse through him. Before he had time to question it, he had to duck from an incoming spell. Curses and spells flew through the air like snowballs in winter. He had no time to contemplate the lovely anaolgy before he took off again.

He was sure he heard someone calling out to him. But he wasn't sure who.

Jack made it to what he deemed an empty hallway and collapsed against the wall, breathing hard and kneeling down next to a suit of armor and hoping that it could obstruct him from anyone's prying eyes.

He needed a minute to collect himself. Jack wanted to understand completely everything that had just happened. He wanted to go back to Pitch and demand answers. But he didn't have the tim or luxury for any of it.

Something grabbed his arm and Jack violently wrenched away, yelling in surprise. The hand slapped over his mouth and he stilled to get a good look at who it was. He sucked in a breath.

"Luna?" he whispered, voice muffled by the dainty hand over his mouth.

Luna nodded quickly and removed the hand from his mouth to instead grab his hand. "Come on, we have to get you out of here." She pulled him to his feet quickly and started walking.

He ducked when a familiar, worried chirping registered in his ears as Baby Tooth fluttered around his head. "B-Baby Tooth..." he muttered, cupping his palms for the small fairy before stowing her away safely in the pocket of his hoodie. "Luna, what the hell is going on?"

"The Death Eaters got into the school somehow and set off the Dark Mark from the tower. That's all I know. Everyone just started flinging spells and hexing each other..." He noticed her shaking slightly and squeezed her hand in response. "I figured that you might be in some trouble. Or rather, a lot of trouble, knowing you."

He let out a short sort of bitter laugh and sighed. "Good thing, too. Pitch..." he trailed off. "Nightlight," he said suddenly. "I don't... I don't know where he is or if-if he's all right-" Jack turned to double back but Luna tugged his hand firmly, pulling him along.

"We can't go back right now," said Luna with sadness in her voice, "as much as I hate to admit it. You need to get out of here first. Then I'll go see if he's okay."

"... Okay," Jack finally said with a nod.

A loud explosion sounded nearby and made them both jump. Voices screeched at them to stop. They started running down the hall. Whoever or whatever was chasing them, they weren't going to stay and find out.

They somehow managed to make their way upstairs again, and Jack simply let Luna lead him through the twisting corridors and staircases.

"In here!" she finally said and dragged Jack into what he recognized as the Room of Requirement. But it was not the room he went in with Draco when he mended those cabniets.

The room no longer had all those strange objects littered about in giant precarious towers. It was no more than a dark closet and a small door only about two feet high and wide. He could barely fit in the little closet all by himself. The door beckoned his curiosity. When Jack bent down and opened it, a tunnel was revealed.

"Go," said Luna, giving him a little push. The sound of footsteps grew louder. Jack looked back at her with a bit of shock.

"You're not coming with me, are you?"

"I'm not the one they're after," she reminded him with a little smile. "Make sure you're careful, though, there might be Wrackspurts in the tunnels. They like enclosed, dark places. They're rather bothersome little things. But they'll be the least of your worries if the Death Eaters catch up."

"I'm not letting you stay behind here!" he protested. His fists clenched at his side and he let out a heavy sigh. Luna stared at him with expectancy, wanting him to leave already. He had to leave. He had to stay safe.

"Please, Jack... just go. I'll be fine, I promise."

You don't know that, Jack thought miserably.

"Come with me," he said softly, holding out his hand to her. "Please, I... I want to keep you safe, Luna. I can't just leave you here."

She stared at him with the slightest bit of hesitation. But she finally took a deep breath and stepped away. "I have to make sure Nightlight is okay. And you have to get out of here."

"Luna-"

She cut him off by leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his cheek, but pulled away just as quickly, blue eyes sparkling.

He stared in shock, the place where her lips touched his cheek burning.

"Go."

Another explosion. She gave Jack no warning before pushing him to the ground and closing the Room of Requirement's door behind him. He only waited for Luna's footsteps to recede before he started crawling through the tunnel, his whole body shaking so badly that he thought he might not be able to move at all.

But Jack's mind was persistent and forced him to keep moving. All he could think of was escape. He had to get out of here and get back to the North Pole, warn the other Guardians, get away from Pitch before it was too late...

A part of him was against that. He should leave while everyone else is getting attacked or slaughtered by the Dark Lord's forces? Was it fair for him to be the only one with a chance to get away?

Jack pulled the hood over his head as if he could block out conflicting thoughts. There was a drop ahead in the tunnel. He edged towards it, clutching his staff at his side tightly. He fell quite suddenly and yelled out in surprise as he tumbled down the slide. It wasn't unlike the time he was in the tunnel that Bunnymund used to lead them to the Warren the day before Easter.

He clutched his head as he finally landed. There was enough room for him to sit up, wherever he was. A loose covering of bricks blocked his way ahead. He pushed through them quite easily and sucked in the fresh night air as he crawled from the hole.

Screams and explosions still radiated from the castle, sparks shooting from and out of the windows and walls. He stumbled back in the dewy grass, breathing hard.

Good. He was out. He just needed to fly away-

Something struck him hard across the face and he was slammed into the brick wall of the castle, pain shooting through him. His nose was bleeding with the cut on his head and he clutched his sore face in an attempt to cease the blood flow.

"A valiant try, I'll admit," Pitch said, swinging a black sword with a dull expression, "but it'll take more than that to get away from me."

The sword stretched very suddenly towards Jack, being able to manipulate itself because of the nightmare sand it was made of. Jack rolled out of the way just in time and it instead collided with the wall of the castle.

"I knew I got off too easy," said Jack. He forced himself to stand, wincing in pain. His staff was brandished at Pitch and he looked bold and brave despite how terrified he felt.

"Do you really think that this will help?" Pitch clicked his tongue sadly. "There are things in the works beyond your simple-minded comprehension, Jack. You have no chance at this."

"It doesn't mean I'll stop trying!" he shot back, blasting a wave of ice at the Nightmare King. Pitch cast it aside much too easily with a wave of his hand, blocking it with nightmare sand.

Another wave was sent at Jack just as quickly and he collapsed, breathing hard; Pitch approached the boy, who was too weak to move or even try to get away.

He tilted his chin upward. "Had enough?"

Jack spit in his face. "I'm not even getting started."

A shadow snaked around his waist in retaliation and threw him to the ground - up in the air - to the ground. Several times this went on until Jack felt he was going to be sick.

He became limp in the hold of the sand, fighting to stay conscious. "You can't do this," he said hoarsely. "How could you.. betray us...? The Guardians... Nightlight..." Jack couldn't find it in him to even mention how he himself felt about this.

"Oh, Jack," sighed Pitch with a woeful expression. "I've been on only one side all along You're too blind to see it, even now..." He held a small handful of nightmare sand in his palm. "It'll be over soon, Jack. You won't have to worry for much longer."

He sprinkled the sand over his eyes and Jack succumbed to a fitful sleep.

Pitch snapped his fingers; the sand dissolved. He caught Jack as the boy fell forward into Pitch's arms.

Pitch stared at him for a long time before he finally moved. He picked up the limp body and started walking. In the distance, he could see a fire blazing at the edge of the forest. What was on fire, he didn't know.

The crackling and sizzling of the cottage inflamed mixed with that of the yells of a certain Harry Potter, who sounded far, far away.

* * *

Harry Potter would not believe that Dumbledore was dead. He would not believe the possibility that Hagrid was dead, with his small cottage burning and blazing in the dark night. And there was no way in Hell that he would believe Jack was being taken by the Death Eaters if he had any say in it.

Still, it was hard to keep chasing after Snape with a vengeance in his condition. Every single spell he threw at the man was deflected. Finally he was flipped over onto the ground. Death Eaters rushed past him. Snape ran past him, only stopping to keep Harry from advancing and encouraging Draco to run ahead of him.

"Coward! _You filthy coward_!"

"_DON'T CALL ME A COWARD_!"

Draco was gone. Jack was gone.

Dumbledore was dead.

Harry was always used to feeling such weight on his shoulders, but this might have been the worst he had ever felt. If only he could have done something more, something to help Draco, save Dumbledore, stop Professor Black...

He sat in the grass a long time even after Hagrid wanted to lead him away.

Wearily, he stumbled to the Hospital Wing. Everyone was gathered around Bill Weasley's bed, where he lay quite motionless, and dead to the world.

Harry sat defeatedly next to Luna, whose gaze was fixed on the ground. Neville was sitting next to her, looking injured, but no more worse for wear. He had his arm around her in a consoling manner.

And with everyone asking him what happened, Harry just let all of his words tumble out. He told them everything; how Snape killed Dumbledore, and, reluctantly, how Pitch took Jack and Jack ran off.

But at that, McGonagall stopped him. "Potter, I can vouch for sure that Professor Black was with us during the duel... he showed up shortly after Professor Snape, and then went after Greyback; he just very nearly stopped Bill from getting slaughtered."

Harry's eyebrows shot up in confusion. "What? No, no, he was definitely there. I saw him with my own two eyes, professor. You have to believe me, he was there!"

Lupin shook his head."Harry, I saw that fellow with Professor McGonagall. I think... I think you're just tired. A lot has happened, and you need some rest."

"No!" Harry snapped, stepping away as Lupin made to guide him to one of the beds. "I'm not some nut, you know! I know what I saw! Can't you all just listen? Remember what happened last time?"

"Harry," Ginny said softly, taking his hand and squeezing it. "Harry, let it go."

"She's right mate," Ron said in a thick voice, standing up.

He gently removed his hand from Ginny's grip and shook his head. "No. We need to get some kind of search party or- or something, we have to go looking for him."

"And we will, Harry," Lupin assured him. "There are teachers already scouting out for any lost or otherwise injured students. You need to trust that we can get this done-"

"It won't be fast enough," Harry said in a defeated sort of way.

"Harry," said Hermione softly standing up as well.

There was a brief silence. "I need some fresh air," he finally decided, abruptly turning away from them all. "It doesn't matter anyway," he added in an undertone as he walked away, not caring if they heard or not, "you won't get there fast enough."

He walked out of the Hospital Wing quite quickly, unable to find it in himself to apologize for his brashness and rudeness. But he felt so useless, unable to help Jack and unable to stop Dumbledore from getting killed... it all bottled up until he felt like he was going to explode.

Someone tapped his shoulder.

"What?" he asked viciously, spinning around.

"You need to calm down," Ginny said.

Embarrassed, Harry looked down at his feet. "Sorry," he muttered. "I'm sorry. I just-" He ran a hand through his scruffy black hair and found it hard to keep sudden tears at bay.

"Yes?" Ginny asked softly.

"I wish I could've done something..."

"Done something? Didn't you say you were standing up to Snape back there?"

"Yeah, well... He still got away... Dumbledore-"

"Would be proud," she said confidently. "We... we can't dwell on this. We need to keep moving forward, don't we?" she prompted. Swallowing back tears of her own, she sighed and took his hand again. "Let's go back. Lupin was right, you need some rest... and Luna wanted to talk to you..."

Harry let Ginny lead him away, his mind wandering elsewhere. No matter what he tried, he couldn't help the events playing in his mind over and over and inventing situations in which he could have done something to put a stop to it all...

His mind once again wandered to Professor Black.

Whatever was going on with him, he was going to find out... question him the first chance he got.

He heard the distant singing of Fawkes the phoenix.

Maybe after some time he had to get over this.

* * *

When Nightlight next opened his eyes, he had no inkling of where he was. The last thing he rembered was Pitch... Pitch! He sat up in alarm and looked around.

He was certainly not in Hogwarts anymore. It was a dark, damp, cramped cell. The only thing illuminating it was himself - living up to his name, he glowed brightly in the darkness.

"Hello?" Nightlight said, his own voice the only steady thing he could place. "Is anyone-" He cut himself off when a cold whoosh of air spilled over him, chilling him down to the bone.

Dementors.

He knew that chill anywhere. He stood up and walked forward until he bumped into metal bars.

He was inside a cell. There were Dementors; the cloaked guards gliding through the dark corridors were veidence of that.

He banged a fist on the bars. Not knowing what possessed him to do so, he continued, only stopping when they became red and aw and aching from the action.

The boy sunk back down onto his bed, shaking terribly. Whoput him here? Surely, it couldn't have been Pitch... but with whatever he was trying to accomplish, he wasn't sure what to think anymore.

Nightlight gazed up at the cieling hopefully, but no moonlight shined down at him from the cracks of the already crumbling room.

Still glowing in the night, but feeling more darkness than he'd ever felt, he closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness.

The Tsar wouldn't let this continue... he had to stop Pitch... he would stop him...

Wouldn't he?


	19. Liar, Liar, What's Your Desire?

**School gets let out this Thursday and I have locker cleanout today... I can barely wait any longer xDx So yeah, thank you all for the reviews, favorites, etc. Things are only going to get more intense from here on out. (pitchyoutrickybastard)**

**Last chapter will be posted next week, then I'm probably taking a short hiatus. **

* * *

The Guardians returned to the North Pole in a sorry state. They barely managed to fight off the Death Eaters and nightmares and get back through the snow globe, and Sandy was not the least bit happy about leaving his castle. They all gathered automatically around the flickering lights of the Globe. The lights in the entire English country were flickering on and off rapidly.

"What's going on?" Tooth asked worriedly. "They're not supposed to be going out that fast!"

North's fist clenched. "It's Him. The Dark Lord." He looked to the moon through the skylight of the workshop. It flashed brightly and images, shadows began to form. The Guardians gathered round with bated breath.

The first image: Nightlight. Backed against a wall, and ahead of him, a hooded figure.

Sandy's eyes widened. He formed prison bars above his head.

"He's in... A-Azkaban?" Tooth said in barely a whisper.

The Guardians fell into a choking silence again and another image appeared. Pitch. He dangled a locket from his fingers. "That traitorous-" Bunnymund started to say angrily, but North cut him off, "Sshh!"

The image faded. And finally, a third appeared. Jack.

The four of them felt their throats dry up and suddenly their speech was gone. A shadow of the Dark Mark formed by him and both the images faded.

Then, the Guardians each appeared one by one. Shadows of more spirits, too, and they all were replaced with a large 'X'. Crossed out. Gone. Until there were only two left. The shapes were undistinguishable.

They all stayed in a long, heavy silence which Bunnymund finally broke by saying, "What the hell are we gonna do?"

"What can we do?" North shook his head slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We can only prolong the inevitable, not stop it from happening."

The Pookah gave a humorless chuckled. "Well if you think - if you think I'm gonna let these bastards take us out, then you're wrong! And you shouldn't just give up this easily!"

"I'm not giving up, Bunny," he said in a stern but annoyed voice. "I am accepting what's going to happen. And I _never _said I wasn't going to fight." His expession was menacing for a moment, but he managed to regain a sense of calm. "But there is not much we can do. You saw it happen; Sandy's castle, first. What next? Tooth Palace? The Warren? The workshop?"

Sensing North was getting worked up, Tooth laid a tentative hand on his shoulder. "North, calm down. Please, we can't fight-"

"You know what's going to happen!" North shouted, brushing Tooth aside. "We barely have... have any time, now! How are we going to protect the children? And Jack! Jack is going to-"

"North!" Tooth snapped, firmer this time. "Quit it. And Bunny," she shot him a glare, "don't underestimate any of us. You know what we can do. We can... we can try and save them, still."

"Try," said Bunnymund quietly. "But will it be enough?"

Suffocating

silence.

Again.

Sandy got their attention with a flag of Dreamsand waving above his head. He flashed a picture of a castle: it deteriorated as tiny figures attacked it. Then, it was gone and replaced with Pitch.

"You're right," Tooth said. "We have to go find him."

"Have a nice, friendly chat." added Bunnymund gruffly.

North stopped them aprubtly, "No."

They turned to face him. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

North shook his head. "He is there. He is waiting for us, he expects this. We're walking right into his trap..." He slammed his fist into his open palm, gritting his teeth. "But that makes it all the worse. There is nothing we can do but wait!"

"Are you kidding me!" Bunnymund yelled. "We can't just sit around here and wait, wait for him to find us and-" He became silent very suddenly. Everyone turned to him. "If he's going after us to find out - about Horcruxes, immortality, the Hallows..." His voice dropped again and he let out a cold laugh.

"It'd just... be so easy for him to go to Hogwarts... and get Jack to tell him. We're too late now, North."

North's eyes were wide with disbelief and it all came crashing down on them. "No! No such thing as too late!" he exclaimed, his face in his hands. "Isn't there anything... anything we can do? We cannot let this happen."

"There's nothing we can do to stop it, though, is there?" Tooth asked softly, gazing at the moon through the skylight. SHe flew a bit higher, eyes narrowed, scrutinizing as if she could find secrets on the surface of the shining moon. "No matter how hard we try... the crystal's..."

She trailed off. Silence again.

Squeaks filled Tooth's ears and her heart suddenly lifted. "Baby Tooth!" she exclaimed. The little fairy came racing through the skylight and Tooth caught her in cupped hands, embracing the tiny fairy before floating back to the ground. "You - I thought you were with Jack - you got away? Oh, I'm so glad you're all right-"

But Baby Tooth looked far from all right. Little tears poured down her cheeks and her feathers were terribly ruffled, and the most miserable expession was on her face. She let out a disheartened squeak and curled up in her Mama's hands, wings twitching lifelessly.

"What happened to her?" North asked quietly.

Tooth bit her lip. "I think she was stunned... looks like it." She pressed a kiss to her little fairy's head. "She's lucky to be okay... Were you with Jack, Baby Tooth?" The little fairy nodded her head.

"Great! She can tell us what happened," said Bunnymund eagerly.

Sandy shook his head and formed a picture of sleeping Baby Tooth above his head.

"I'm sorry, Bunny, but Sandy's right. She needs rest. We'll just leave her alone for now..." Tooth looked around for a pillow and set it on a nearby empty table, laying Baby Tooth on it and making sure the area was undisturbed.

"What now?" asked Bunnymund in a heavy voice.

Sandy formed a clock above his head.

_We wait._

* * *

Pitch sat in the Hospital Wing quietly, his arms crossed, staring at the locket in his hands. Finally, he was glad to have it back... He'd been searching for it since he could first remmber, but he had no idea what secrets it held. He opened it. There was a picture of a young girl with long, black hair and fair skin. He stared at it with a fond smile, even though he had no idea who the girl was.

Ah, he could find that out later. He had some plans to attend to.

Jack was with the Death Eaters now, and he wouldn't have to worry about him for a while. They had swallowed the bait, the fools. Nightlight was in Azkaban... he'd take care of him later.

And the Guardians.

Oh, no doubt they would be wanting an explanation about all of this. Too bad they wouldn't live long enough to get one. Then again, maybe he wouldn't live long enough to give one either.

When the infirmary became silent and dark as the night, Pitch stood and disappeared into the shadows.

Hogwarts prevented Apparation but it could not prevent his travel by shadow. That was another form of magic entirely. "Now, where is it?" he muttered to himself as he began to pace around his lair. One of his nightmares greeted him and he took comfort in their appearance, stroking the horse's mane fondly. A loud meow at his feet brought back his attention.

"Oh, right. Forgot about you," Pitch chuckled and picked up Adrian, who happily nestled in his arms with a soft purr.

Pitch stalked silently around the innermost reaches of his lair, smiling in satisfaction when he reached his destination. It was a small, dark room with a pedestal. On top of the pedestal, a large blue-white crystal filled the room with light, shining bright in a way that made one want to avert their eyes to avoid going blind.

He withdrew the staff of Nightlight that he had gained in the deal and pointed it at the crystal, closing his eyes. The light flashed ever brighter and when it finally lulled into darkness, the staff and crystal were one again.

"Silly boy," he chuckled, running a hand appreciatively along the handle of the staff. "Did you really think that the Crystal was going to kill you? Everything I told you about ti was true, of course... you just didn't realize I'd tricked you." With a giddy sort of hum, Pitch put the staff back down on the pedestal. Now all he had to do was wait a little longer for the opportunity to use it.

He disappeared back into the shadows and reappeared at Hogwarts, climbing back into his bed. His arm got a little torn from the fight with Greyback when he was hurrying to get back to Jack. The damn fool wasn't supposed to try and kill one of the Order, he was just supposed to leave with the rest of them. Oh, well.

Sighing, he shook his head and folded his hands to rest behind it. "_Silly, foolish boy.._."

The next day when he woke up, he was cleared to leave. His arm felt better, but that was of course, thanks to his own treatment in contrast to Madam Pomfrey's. Pitch returned to his office, quiet and solemn. He rested his head in his hands and stared down at the locket, wracking his brain for answers. Looking for any sign of who the girl could be.

A thought popped into his head. Yes, it was so simple, so simple indeed! She was... S...

Sera-

Two harsh knocks rapped at his door and the name was gone.

Pitch stared at the door in disbelief and tried to mask his anger. Damn it, he had been so close that time! "Come in," he said curtly.

Hermione Granger timidly entered, closing the door behind her. Her eyes were rimmed with red and her hair a little bushier than usual. Of course, that was just from stress and everything that had happened the night before. Not putting on a smile to encourage her, but no wanting to seem to angry, he adopted a neutral expression and said, "Is there something I can help you with, Miss Granger?"

She hesitantly approached his desk and sat down in a chair. "I, ah... Harry, he wanted me to... ask you something."

Pitch raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, quite frankly, I am not interested in anything that he has to say at the moment. Make it quick, you're wasting my time."

Unabashed, Hermione continued, "He thought that, uh... that you helped the Death Eaters. He wanted em to confirm... it?"

"This is beginning to sound less of a question of Harry's and more of an inquiry of your own," Pitch pointed out. "You're not one so quick to accuse teachers, and he wouldn't ask you to do this for him. He'd come here himself."

Hermione sighed softly. "Right..."

"Well?" He tapped his finger impatiently against the desk.

Silence.

"If you're not going to say anything, then the door's right there. You can leave-"

"Kozmotis," she said abruptly, blurting the name out.

Something in Pitch's mind screamed, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He was quite still and pale. "What?" he asked in a whisper.

"Kozmotis... Pitchiner." She took a deep breath, eyes flickering to the locket for a brief moment, before turning back to Pitch. "That's your name, isn't it?"

"Well, yes. Part of it."

"You had a daughter... _sir._" Hermione continued.

Pitch's face became paler and paler with each passing word. Finally, he lowered his voice and said in a dangerous voice, "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

Hermione held up a book. Had she been carrying that when she came in. "I found this in the library's restricted section."

"Ten points from Gryffindor," he said sternly. "That section is restricted for a reason. To keep out pesky children like you."

Hermione ignored that. "It told me... so many things." She said it in a breathless, amazed whisper. Pitch snatched the book from her and read the cover. It was blank, a dusty blue bound book. There was a name inscribed on the spine of the book.

"Tsar Lunanoff," he muttered, scowling, and opening the book to the first page. "Certain immortal scumbags shouldn't leave books like these lying about for children." He turned back to Hermione and gave her a sickening smile. "Congratulations, another five points from Gryffindor."

"What did you do with Jack?" All nervous pretense was gone and Hermione's eyes were cold and angry. "And, like I asked before, _sir_, are you working with the Death Eaters?"

"I don't believe it's any of your business whom I place my trust and help in. Though," Pitch let out a dark chuckle, "I don't think any of you should be so quick to trust me to be on your side."

He could see the gears in Hermione's brain clanking and turning. "Now, if you'll _excuse_ me. You've quite overstayed your welcome, Miss Granger." Pitch placed a hand on her back and shoved her to the door, handing her the book.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, spinning around to face him. "Whose side are you on?"

"Goodbye, Hermione." He shut the door.

Standing there and feeling quite defeated, Hermione stared down at the book. She didn't know just how or why she came across it... but she felt that it was important. In more than just giving her information about Pitch that no one else knew; maybe not even that he knew.

Feeling the book become suddenly hot in her hands, she yelped and dropped it. It fell open to the first page where something was written. It looked new...

"If ever shall you need my help just call the dark and dead of the world and my kingly shadow shall protect you from all harm. -P"

And next to it was a small, dark ball. It looked like a marble, but felt grainy and sandy in her hands. Hermione slowly put it in the pocket of her pants and picked up the book. She walked down the hall quite silent, at a slow pace, before she burst into a run back to Gryffindor tower, intent on telling the details to her friends. She slowed down.

No. She couldn't tell them now. She would wait... wait until after the funeral. With a slower, but still determined pace, she walked back to Gryffindor tower, rain pattering the castle walls.

Hermione caught up with Luna on her way there. "How did it go?" Luna asked softly.

Hermione sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "It's a start."


	20. The First Agony

Jamie shot out of his bed with a start, breathing heavily, is chest drenched in sweat.

He ran a hand through his hair and lay awake and alone in the darkness, panting as he tried to make sense of everything that just happened, everything he just saw. He knew there was… something wrong, but he had no idea what this was.

Feeling bile rise up in his throat, he rushed to the bathrooma nd gulped down as much water as he could. He sat on the floor of his bathroom, head bent over the toilet just in case his dinner decided to make a reappearance.

After an eternity, he calmed down and his stomach settled a bit. He heard a distant ringing in his ears. It took a minute, but he realized that it was actually his phone.

Slowly, he made his way back to his room. His phone lit up, and he checked the caller ID. Pippa.

Jamie breathed a small sigh of relief and answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey Jamie… uh, glad you picked up. Sorry, I guess it must be late there… I'll be back in the states pretty soon, I thought I'd call…" She was rambling and sounded as nervous and scared as he felt.

"Hey, calm down a sec," he laughed softly. "It's fine, really. I just woke up from a, uh… interesting dream. So, it's nothing. It's actually a relief to be able to talk to you…"

Silence over the line. "Was it… was it about Jack?" Pippa finally said.

Jamie's brow knitted in confusion. "Uh… uh huh. How'd ya guess?"

"He's in trouble. I know it for sure."

He heard Pippa's heavy breathing over the line and felt that she was trying hard to keep calm, but desperately wanted to get this secret off her chest. "There are so many things that I have to tell you, Jamie. But I can't do it here… you'll have to wait a little while longer."

"I'm all right with that," Jamie said. She would be back in a few hours, once it was morning. "But… can you stay and talk with me for little longer, anyway?"

Pippa let out a small laugh. "Scared?"

"Heck no!"

They both giggled and Jamie felt all his worries fade to hte back of his mind, but all sorts of questions began popping up. Whatever Pippa wanted to say to him, it had to be important… Important enough that it had to do with Jack's safety.

His mind briefly fell back to the image of Jack in his dream. Screaming, writhing on the ground as a figure towered above him. It scared him. He had to find Jack and bring him home if it was the last thing he would ever do.

* * *

Jack was sleeping very lightly. When Pitch sprinkled the sand over his eyes, it did not have lasting effects. He couldn't deduce as to whether or not this was an accident on Pitch's part, or whether he wanted him to remain conscious for some time…

He awoke to the sound of arguing, several people yelling loudly. He winced, wanting to cover his ears, but found quickly that his hands were tied together. The rope was coarse and rough around his already aching wrist with the burn on it. Slowly, he shifted his hands a few times. The ropes caused discomfort. It was too tight and would only get tighter it he struggled. He kept his eyes closed tightly, finally letting words flow to his ears and listen to the argument.

"How do we know we can trust him? Wasn't he working with them before all of this?" The voice somehow reminded him of Draco, but sounded much older.

A woman laughed shrilly. "Of course we can trust him! He wouldn't hand the brat over otherwise, would he?" The sharp heel of a boot came in contact with his side and he did his best not to react, clenching his teeth hard to avoid suddenly crying out. "All we need now is the crystal. Don't overestimate your intelligence, Lucius," she sneered. "Besides, he'll be as good as dead once we get what we want."

Jack started focusing on the rope again. Okay, so they were talking about Pitch. He felt anger flare up in him at the mere mention of Pitch. But there was something going on here, something he didn't understand. It was so frustratingly complex. He just had to keep listening. Meanwhile, he let a subtle layer of frost coat the ropes binding his wrists. If he froze them thoroughly enough, he could then dispel the ice and easily break free…

"And am I to understand that this boy possesses the crystal inside of him?" The older-Draco voice repeated, a little more timidly now.

"Well, he wouldn't be here otherwise, then, would he?" The woman nearly screeched, her voice nails grating down a chalkboard. "We just have to figure out how to get it from him. Harness it for the Dark Lord, or use him otherwise…"

The first coating of frost was finished. He concentrated on a stronger coat now, harder, freezing the ropes to their core.

"And the Dark Lord has left it to you?" came a drawling voice. Snape. Jack started working faster.

"He shall do with the boy what he wishes. I will only assist him if it is My Lord's utmost desire." Footsteps. The woman was walking away from him and into a different corner of the room, but her loud voice no less faint from there. "But maybe we should give Draco the opportunity, as a reward for a job well done."

Jack's breath hitched in his throat.

Another woman spoke, "Leave Draco alone. He's not feeling well."

"Well, I expect he would feel quite fine, Cissy! Not many are so lucky to complete such a task as that for the Dark Lord. I wish I could have been there myself, cherishing the look on that old bag's face… Tell me, Draco, what was it like?" She let out a low laugh and Jack felt intense dislike for the woman increasing.

"Bellatrix, leave my son alone," quipped Draco's father.

Jack continued to work, faster and faster. More subtle frost over the ropes. He had no idea where the location of his staff was. He idly though to Pitch's lessons. Maybe he was preparing him for something like this situation, where he was powerless without his staff… He had some begrudging gratitude toward Pitch. But only for that.

"You have no authority here, Lucius Malfoy!" Bellatrix said with another cold laugh.

"That is enough," Snape said, his tone putting an end to any further means of conversation between the two of them. "We have work to do. He will be here soon, and the boy will need to be awake."

One of the other Death Eaters scoffed. "We may as well put him somewhere else until then. I vote the cellar! Cold, dark, and comfortable. Very homey, just ask Ollivander."

There was a brief rumble of laughter from the other Death Eaters.

"He'll be awake soon…" Footsteps drew closer and his breath hitched. He stopped, letting the ice begin to fade as Snape peered over him. He tried to keep calm, focused everything into looking dead to the world.

Please, please, just go away… I'm asleep, I'm unconscious…

The footsteps faded and Jack fought a sigh of relief. He started working on the ropes again, recoating them with frost again.

"What's the big deal with this kid, anyway?" another Death Eater asked.

"Fool!" Bellatrix exclaimed. "He is of more value than you could ever know. With him, he holds the key to immortality… The Crystal… But no, he is not the only one. There are others. And in the nonexistent possibility that our Great, Dark Lord's plan for immortality fails—" she laughed as if she could not believe it, "then the boy will be the next step."

"Y'mean he's immortal?" This Death Eater spoke slowly, cautiously.

"He may look young," she said, "but is anything else. The Dark Lord knows this, he has seen it all… gazed into the deepest depths of the secrets of the moon. And with this boy, he will become much more than he already is. Even greater than the feats he's already accomplished!"

"You spoil too much," Snape said curtly. "Leave the details to someone else, not these half-wits to spoil."

The ice around his ropes were like cuffs now, and he focused all his energy into making them burst. Footsteps drew nearer. "Enough talk. Greyback, take him to the cellar where Ollivander is."

Two rough claws of hands seized him and with a loud yell, the ice broke the ropes and Jack flipped onto his feet, pushing the werewolf back with a hard kick to the face.

While silence and shock took over the Death Eaters, he looked around the room to quickly evaluate his surroundings.

Draco's father Lucius was standing next to the scary Bellatrix woman, both of them looking quite surprised. By a fireplace in the corner were Draco and a woman he assumed to be his mother. Snape looked rather passively annoyed and Greyback was swearing and clutching his face. Panting hard, Jack smirked. "Sorry, I don't agree with your plans."

Snape was the first to speak. "That's unfortunate. You're cooperating whether you like it or not." They all raised their wands and pointed them at him. Draco was just staring at Jack, unable to form words. Jack couldn't think of anything to say to him, either, and looked away.

Jack's eyes darted around for an exit. Getting to the door woudl require running through all of them. He was outnumbered and outgunned. Or, outwanded, in this case.

Then again, he always did like a challenge.

Jack raised his hand and shot a burst of icy energy at the Death Eaters, scattering them effectively. Then he ran as fast as he could toward the door. Almost there, dodging curses that flew past his ears and brushed against his clothing—

Almost there! But Bellatrix screamed, "_Crucio_!" and he was thrown to the ground, red light engulfing his body as he writhed in pain. His limbs twisted at unnatural angles and it felt like his insides were on fire— He was so close to the door, but couldn't even reach out to grab the doorknob above him, taunting him for his failure to escape.

He fought back against it, trying to throw it off. To his amazement, the red glow began to die, leaving him gasping for air on the ground.

"That's weird," Bellatrix commented, voicing everyone else's concerns on just how Jack had been able to fight off an Unforgiveable curse such as that so easily. "Crucio!" she yelleed again.

A silent scream passed his lips as his back arched off the ground. Red light, twisted limbs, his entire body on fire. _Stop!_ He wasn't sure if he said it in his mind or out loud but the light faded again and with it, the pain. He curled up with a small hiccup of pain, clutching his side.

Bellatrix stepped towards him. "You're not to kill him," warned Snape. "Let the boy be, the Dark Lord himself will be here soon enough."

"I'm only subduing him. Otherwise he likes to cause trouble." The heel of her boot once again dug into Jack's side and he groaned through gritted teeth, shoving it away. It returned, harder. He felt like his stomach was going to split.

"Stop it!" he managed to yell, rolling away from her and forcing himself up onto his feet. His eyes lingered on the door behind here again. Sensing this, Bellatrix shoved him back. Two more masked fiends seized his arms and he struggled only long enough to receive a blow to the head, quieting him into submission.

There was a loud crack that echoed in the room. Jack struggled to get his eyes to focus on the figure that had appeared. All of the occupants of the room bowed, including the Death Eaters holding him. He fought against it, standing weakly and letting his head remain staring at the ground.

Bellatrix's voice was a whisper, "My Lord, we have him… He has unfortunately been a little injured, but, he was threatening escape…"

There was a sound like the hiss of a snake and Bellatrix fell silent. "That is a… minor setback in a major operation. You are forgiven."

She and the Death Eaters muttered their greatest, humblest gratitude. Jack tried not to flinch when he felt the dark presence moving closer towards him with soft footsteps against the hard wood of the floor.

"And who have we here…? Jack Frost…" Another snake-like hiss, a hand reaching out to touch his ice-cold flesh. He drew away from it, eyes shut tight.

"I've heard a great deal of things about you. I would love to learn more…" A hand gripped his chin with a mocking gentleness.

"Don't touch me!" he spat, wrenching himself away once more.

"How dare you!" Once again, Bellatrix was up to defend her master's integrity.

Voldemort raised a hand to silence her once more. "That is quite all right. He shall not talk back with a little persuasion."

Jack found himself staring at the tip of a wand and every hair on the back of his neck stood up. Two words were shouted, but he couldn't quite make it out over the blinding green light filling his vision, consuming him and extinguishing all else around him.

And for the first time,

in a long time,

Jack thought of his sister.

* * *

**And with that ends the first part of Jack Frost and the Crystal Agony. **

**I do have a sequel planned out if anyone wants to read it! It may take a short while to get it posted, though. I am going to be taking a short hiatus and putting my effort into some other stories. But for everyone who has been a part of this crazy ride, thank you for all the support. I love to continue hearing from you all, and stay tuned for a Rainbow Snowcone fanfic that I'll hopefully be posting soon!**

**Again, thanks so much! I hope to rewrite and revise this once I have a little more time. I'll be going on vacation up to Grand Marais for a week very soon, and I sure am excited for that. Hope you all enjoyed the story and continue enjoying my other writing and other stories~! **

**If enough people want it, I will post the sequel some time between now and September. It will be following a chronological timeline in the story, so I will be posting it in accordance to that. So you may get a chapter or two during the summer.**

**Love y'all, don't forget to review~! **


	21. AN

A teaser for the sequel has been posted! More may come along, depending if people want more teasers uvu


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